Side-by-side distribution
Civil Engineer
$122,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 28.3%
- Live roles
- 272
Materials Engineer
$161,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.7%
- Live roles
- 93
Highest-paying jobs
Civil Engineer, Energy Storage Project Engineering
Civil Engineer, Capacity Delivery
Civil Engineer
Environmental Engineer, Civil
Structural/Civil Engineer - Natural Gas Power Projects
Wastewater Civil Engineer
Civil Engineer - Open Submission for Flexible, Hourly Opportunities
Senior Civil Engineer, Capacity Delivery
Senior Civil Engineer
Civil Development Engineer, Renewable Energy
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Nuclear Materials Engineer
Materials Scientist / Engineer
Materials Engineer (New Grad Summer 2027)
Materials Engineer (New Grad December 2026)
Principal TPS Materials Engineer
Senior Data Engineer, Bioinformatics, Cheminformatics, Materials
Senior Materials Engineer, Diagnostics
Senior Materials Engineer, Dielectrics
Senior Materials Engineer, Ceramic Fabrication
Staff Materials Engineer, Design Allowables & Materials Data
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
LaBella Associates
|
$125,000 | 11 |
BKF
|
$117,000 | 11 |
Atwell, LLC
|
$97,500 | 9 |
Olsson
|
$110,500 | 8 |
Woolpert
|
$126,500 | 5 |
Apex Companies
|
$130,000 | 4 |
|
Fluidstack
|
$185,000 | 3 |
CSG Consultants
|
$153,500 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 7 |
|
Helion
|
$200,000 | 5 |
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 5 |
|
Freeform
|
$249,600 | 3 |
Relativity Space
|
$155,000 | 2 |
General Matter
|
$145,000 | 2 |
Antares
|
$141,250 | 2 |
Neuralink
|
$116,900 | 2 |
Civil Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $182,000 | 4 |
| New York | $132,500 | 12 |
| San Francisco | $124,500 | 6 |
| Denver | $119,000 | 9 |
| Chicago | $113,850 | 3 |
Materials Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $163,750 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $140,500 | 4 |
Civil Engineer vs Materials Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Civil Engineer is $122,500 per year (typically $101,000–$143,900), versus $161,000 for Materials Engineer ($125,000–$183,500). That puts Materials Engineer about 31% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Civil Engineer and Materials Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.