Civil Engineers salary in Olympia, WA

Median pay for civil engineers in Olympia, WA: $95,470/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $74,320 – $128,860 · about 770 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($88,630) by +$6,840 (+8%).

What it's really worth in Olympia

With Olympia's cost of living at 106 (US=100), that $95,470 has the buying power of about $89,761 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $88,895 · median home $533,918 · median rent $2,041/mo.

Full Olympia cost of living & taxes →

How Olympia ranks for this job

On raw pay, Olympia, WA is 56th of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Olympia's cost of living is applied, it ranks 111th.

The headline number flatters Olympia. 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 Olympia

A median home in Olympia, WA costs $533,918 — about 5.6× 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 $2,041/mo works out at 26% 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 Olympia.

Metro	Median pay	vs Olympia	Rent vs Olympia
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+32%	1.1×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+28%	1.6×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+25%	1.8×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	+15%	0.7×

Same job elsewhere in WA

Metro	Median pay	vs Olympia	Rent vs Olympia
Kennewick, WA	$101,690	+7%	0.8×
Bremerton, WA	$101,460	+6%	1×
Seattle, WA	$101,220	+6%	1.1×
Yakima, WA	$88,630	−7%	0.7×

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

Other jobs in Olympia