Civil Engineers salary in Detroit, MI

Median pay for civil engineers in Detroit, MI: $82,920/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $60,870 – $128,720 · about 4,190 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($88,630) by −$5,710 (-6%).

What it's really worth in Detroit

With Detroit's cost of living at 98 (US=100), that $82,920 has the buying power of about $84,451 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $72,456 · median home $269,080 · median rent $1,500/mo.

Full Detroit cost of living & taxes →

How Detroit ranks for this job

On raw pay, Detroit, MI is 129th of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Detroit's cost of living is applied, it ranks 161st.

The headline number flatters Detroit. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, civil engineers here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Detroit

A median home in Detroit, MI costs $269,080 — about 3.2× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,500/mo works out at 22% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where civil engineers earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Detroit.

Metro	Median pay	vs Detroit	Rent vs Detroit
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+52%	1.5×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+48%	2.2×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+44%	2.4×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	+33%	0.9×

Same job elsewhere in MI

Metro	Median pay	vs Detroit	Rent vs Detroit
Lansing, MI	$85,860	+4%	0.8×
Ann Arbor, MI	$82,230	−1%	1.4×
Kalamazoo, MI	$82,130	−1%	0.9×
Flint, MI	$81,640	−2%	0.7×

Staying in MI keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Detroit