Civil Engineers salary in Merced, CA

Median pay for civil engineers in Merced, CA: $81,100/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $64,140 – $149,540 · about 60 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($88,630) by −$7,530 (-8%).

What it's really worth in Merced

With Merced's cost of living at 100 (US=100), that $81,100 has the buying power of about $81,411 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $64,772 · median home $419,171 · median rent $1,975/mo.

Full Merced cost of living & taxes →

How Merced ranks for this job

On raw pay, Merced, CA is 145th of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Merced's cost of living is applied, it ranks 172nd.

The headline number flatters Merced. 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 Merced

A median home in Merced, CA costs $419,171 — about 5.2× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,975/mo works out at 29% 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 Merced.

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+55%	1.2×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+51%	1.6×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+47%	1.8×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	+36%	0.7×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+55%	1.2×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+51%	1.6×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+47%	1.8×
Fresno, CA	$108,570	+34%	1×

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

Other jobs in Merced