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Civil Engineers salary in Roanoke, VA

Median pay for civil engineers in Roanoke, VA: $80,670/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $62,450 – $120,870 · about 270 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($88,630) by −$7,960 (-9%).

What it's really worth in Roanoke

With Roanoke's cost of living at 91 (US=100), that $80,670 has the buying power of about $88,449 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $65,687 · median home $301,139 · median rent $1,403/mo.

Full Roanoke cost of living & taxes →

How Roanoke ranks for this job

On raw pay, Roanoke, VA is 149th of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Roanoke's cost of living is applied, it ranks 123rd.

Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Roanoke is one of the places where civil engineers gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.

What that salary buys in Roanoke

A median home in Roanoke, VA costs $301,139 — about 3.7× 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 $1,403/mo works out at 21% 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 Roanoke.

MetroMedian payvs RoanokeRent vs Roanoke
Sacramento, CA $125,760 +56% 1.6×
San Francisco, CA $122,670 +52% 2.3×
San Jose, CA $119,430 +48% 2.6×
Baton Rouge, LA $110,110 +36%

Same job elsewhere in VA

MetroMedian payvs RoanokeRent vs Roanoke
Richmond, VA $84,360 +5% 1.3×
Virginia Beach, VA $80,400 +0% 1.3×
Lynchburg, VA $76,750 −5% 0.9×

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

Other jobs in Roanoke

Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.