Civil Engineers salary in Reading, PA

Median pay for civil engineers in Reading, PA: $97,120/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $62,290 – $130,700 · about 280 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($88,630) by +$8,490 (+10%).

What it's really worth in Reading

With Reading's cost of living at 96 (US=100), that $97,120 has the buying power of about $100,678 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $74,617 · median home $312,348 · median rent $1,505/mo.

Full Reading cost of living & taxes →

How Reading ranks for this job

On raw pay, Reading, PA is 49th of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Reading's cost of living is applied, it ranks 34th.

Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Reading sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.

What that salary buys in Reading

A median home in Reading, PA costs $312,348 — 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 $1,505/mo works out at 19% 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 Reading.

Metro	Median pay	vs Reading	Rent vs Reading
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+29%	1.5×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+26%	2.2×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+23%	2.4×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	+13%	0.9×

Same job elsewhere in PA

Metro	Median pay	vs Reading	Rent vs Reading
Pittsburgh, PA	$97,560	+0%	1×
Philadelphia, PA	$96,240	−1%	1.3×
Allentown, PA	$90,810	−6%	1.2×
Harrisburg, PA	$89,560	−8%	1×

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