National Salary Info » Aerospace Engineers

Highest Paying Industries for Aerospace Engineers

The top 46 highest paying industries for aerospace engineers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $117,220, employment services is the highest paying industry for aerospace engineers. It is followed by temporary help services industry (average annual salary $116,940). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of aerospace engineers in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 46 Highest Paying Industries for Aerospace Engineers

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Employment Services	$117,220	$71,800	980
2	Temporary Help Services	$116,940	$71,610	980
3	Administrative and Support Services	$115,160	$71,110	1,170
4	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	$115,160	$71,110	1,170
5	Federal government, including USPS	$113,550	$77,800	8,940
6	Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	$113,550	$77,800	8,940
7	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$113,490	$77,690	8,960
8	Federal, State, and Local Government	$113,490	$77,690	8,960
9	Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing	$112,790	$64,500	40
10	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$112,280	$75,600	9,560
11	Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	$111,660	$67,150	3,810
12	Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	$110,000	$46,990	150
13	Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing	$109,640	$67,500	5,200
14	Scientific Research and Development Services	$107,500	$65,390	9,100
15	Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences	$107,490	$65,380	9,100
16	Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing	$107,190	$65,250	170
17	Communications Equipment Manufacturing	$105,080	$68,640	1,230
18	Wholesale Trade	$104,350	$61,930	300
19	Household Appliances and Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers	$104,340	$60,150	n/a
20	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$104,150	$61,730	290
21	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$103,910	$61,750	22,810
22	Engineering Services	$103,450	$60,020	10,010
23	Manufacturing	$103,430	$67,560	33,220
24	Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$102,960	$66,140	50
25	Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	$102,770	$59,970	10,570
26	Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	$102,430	$67,620	27,660
27	Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	$102,410	$67,610	27,680
28	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$102,070	$66,070	70
29	Computer Systems Design and Related Services	$100,060	$59,980	1,000
30	Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	$97,810	$56,780	2,000
31	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - State government owned	$97,200	$49,770	600
32	Educational Services - State government owned	$97,200	$49,770	600
33	State government, including schools and hospitals	$96,930	$49,670	600
34	Testing Laboratories	$95,840	$65,020	520
35	Nonscheduled Air Transportation	$94,640	$69,110	40
36	Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	$93,740	$50,420	710
37	Educational Services	$93,260	$50,410	740
38	Air Transportation	$92,800	$65,810	680
39	Scheduled Air Transportation	$92,660	$65,660	640
40	Transportation and Warehousing	$91,060	$61,040	1,500
41	Support Activities for Air Transportation	$88,310	$56,630	770
42	Support Activities for Transportation	$88,100	$56,680	780
43	Educational Services - Privately owned	$82,830	$53,670	140
44	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Privately owned	$82,270	$53,900	110
45	Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$76,160	$48,720	130
46	Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing	$71,700	$55,350	n/a