Ship Engineer Salary in U.S.

The salary statistics of ship engineers are shown in Table 1. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of ship engineers within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The ship engineers annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].

Table 1. Ship Engineer Salary in U.S. (2022 survey)

Percentile BracketAverage Annual Salary
10th Percentile Wage
$52,520
25th Percentile Wage
$72,410
50th Percentile Wage
$87,300
75th Percentile Wage
$107,580
90th Percentile Wage
$139,990

Table 1 shows the average annual salary for ship engineers. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) ship engineers is $139,990. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $87,300. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $52,520. It is noted that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 166% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.

Median salary trend (2012 to 2022)

The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of ship engineers from 2012 to 2022.

YearMedian SalaryYearly Growth10-Year Growth
2022
$87,300
5.60% 18.80%
2021
$82,410
7.79% -
2020
$75,990
1.82% -
2019
$74,610
4.66% -
2018
$71,130
-2.78% -
2017
$73,110
3.47% -
2016
$70,570
-3.26% -
2015
$72,870
6.55% -
2014
$68,100
-2.29% -
2013
$69,660
-1.77% -
2012
$70,890
- -

Table 2. Ship Engineer Salary by Industry Sector (2022 survey)

The average salaries of ship engineers in 12 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2. We note that the salaries vary considerably within different industry sectors. The highest paying industry sector for ship engineers occupations is the mining sector with an annual salary $138,550. The lowest paying sector is the real estate and rental and leasing sector (annual salary $58,200).

Industry Sector Median Annual Salary
Mining
$138,550
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
$105,000
Management of Companies and Enterprises
$102,330
Transportation and Warehousing
$90,750
Construction
$88,870
Educational Services
$84,120
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
$81,930
Other Services (except Federal, State, and Local Government)
$77,490
Federal, State, and Local Government
$72,860
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
$65,860
Manufacturing
$60,650
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
$58,200

Table 3. Median Annual Wage of Ship Engineers by States (2022 survey)

From the above tables we note that not only ship engineers salaries vary considerably based on one's education and experience, and the industry sectors, they also change considerably from state to state. In the following table we compare the median salary of ship engineers in all 50 states of the United States. We note that the median annual salaries range from $30,570 to $107,190. The highest paying state for ship engineers is New Jersey with a median annual salary of $107,190. The lowest paying state is Puerto Rico with a median annual salary of $30,570. For more salary information of ship engineers profession in a specific state, use the links in the table.

State Name Median Annual Salary
New Jersey
$107,190
Florida
$102,660
Maryland
$102,070
Hawaii
$101,660
New York
$101,580
Mississippi
$98,850
Rhode Island
$96,720
Ohio
$96,260
Washington
$94,970
Illinois
$93,190
Massachusetts
$92,500
Missouri
$91,760
Texas
$91,410
Louisiana
$87,550
Alaska
$86,610
California
$85,360
South Carolina
$84,690
Indiana
$80,010
Virginia
$79,790
Kentucky
$79,620
Tennessee
$78,390
Pennsylvania
$77,950
Georgia
$76,020
Michigan
$74,820
New Hampshire
$71,160
Connecticut
$67,570
Oregon
$66,540
Alabama
$65,000
Minnesota
$62,600
Maine
$53,320
North Carolina
$50,290
District of Columbia
$43,870
Puerto Rico
$30,570