Side-by-side distribution
Industrial Engineer
$127,627
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 37.7%
- Live roles
- 114
Mechanical Engineer
$150,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 47%
- Live roles
- 1,335
Highest-paying jobs
Data Center Design Engineer, Electrical - Industrial Compute
Sr. Solutions Engineer - Public Sector (Defense Industrial Base)
Industrial Engineer
System Safety Engineer, Mining/Industrial
Industrial Robotics Engineer
Staff Industrial Engineer, Supply Chain Material Flow
Senior Solution Engineer - Defense Industrial Base (DIB)
Senior Industrial Engineer, Supply Chain Material Flow
Senior Industrial Engineer
Senior Industrial Engineer, Layouts
Highest-paying jobs
Data Center Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical Commissioning Project Engineer
Staff Mechanical Engineer, Fluid Systems
Mechanical Design Engineer
Senior Mechanical engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical Engineer, Robotics Hardware
Principal Mechanical Engineer, Space Special Programs
Principal Mechanical Engineer, Factory Automation
Principal Mechanical Design & Analysis Engineer, Tooling
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 12 |
Gotion, Inc.
|
$100,000 | 5 |
Advanced Technology Services
|
$109,330 | 2 |
Qualdoc
|
$77,500 | 2 |
|
OpenAI
|
$292,000 | 1 |
|
Databricks
|
$260,200 | 1 |
|
Fluidstack
|
$225,500 | 1 |
|
Snowflake
|
$190,781 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 68 |
SpaceX
|
$111,875 | 28 |
|
Relativity Space
|
$165,000 | 22 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$132,627 | 20 |
Vast
|
$147,213 | 16 |
| DG DLR Group | $114,565 | 16 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$139,750 | 14 |
Antares
|
$150,000 | 11 |
Mechanical Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $188,500 | 20 |
| San Francisco | $165,000 | 57 |
| Austin | $165,000 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 55 |
| New York | $131,750 | 26 |
| Boston | $128,692 | 7 |
| Denver | $125,000 | 11 |
| Chicago | $114,565 | 10 |
| Atlanta | $102,500 | 4 |
Industrial Engineer vs Mechanical Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Industrial Engineer is $127,627 per year (typically $100,000–$153,750), versus $150,000 for Mechanical Engineer ($120,000–$172,100). That puts Mechanical Engineer about 18% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Industrial Engineer and Mechanical 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.