Civil Engineers salary in San Jose, CA

Median pay for civil engineers in San Jose, CA: $119,430/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $82,210 – $192,920 · about 3,000 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($88,630) by +$30,800 (+35%).

What it's really worth in San Jose

With San Jose's cost of living at 113 (US=100), that $119,430 has the buying power of about $105,635 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $151,713 · median home $1,610,466 · median rent $3,625/mo.

Full San Jose cost of living & taxes →

How San Jose ranks for this job

On raw pay, San Jose, CA is 3rd of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once San Jose's cost of living is applied, it ranks 15th.

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

What that salary buys in San Jose

A median home in San Jose, CA costs $1,610,466 — about 13.5× 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 $3,625/mo works out at 36% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

Where civil engineers earn more

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

Metro	Median pay	vs San Jose	Rent vs San Jose
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+5%	0.6×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+3%	0.9×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	−8%	0.4×
Fresno, CA	$108,570	−9%	0.6×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs San Jose	Rent vs San Jose
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+5%	0.6×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+3%	0.9×
Fresno, CA	$108,570	−9%	0.6×
Salinas, CA	$106,850	−11%	0.8×

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

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