Civil Engineers salary in Durham, NC

Median pay for civil engineers in Durham, NC: $83,660/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $61,230 – $132,490 · about 640 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($88,630) by −$4,970 (-6%).

What it's really worth in Durham

With Durham's cost of living at 97 (US=100), that $83,660 has the buying power of about $85,940 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $76,040 · median home $414,340 · median rent $1,703/mo.

Full Durham cost of living & taxes →

How Durham ranks for this job

On raw pay, Durham, NC is 122nd of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Durham's cost of living is applied, it ranks 147th.

The headline number flatters Durham. 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 Durham

A median home in Durham, NC costs $414,340 — about 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 $1,703/mo works out at 24% 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 Durham.

Metro	Median pay	vs Durham	Rent vs Durham
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+50%	1.3×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+47%	1.9×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+43%	2.1×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	+32%	0.8×

Same job elsewhere in NC

Metro	Median pay	vs Durham	Rent vs Durham
Charlotte, NC	$94,750	+13%	1×
Wilmington, NC	$93,870	+12%	1×
Asheville, NC	$89,110	+7%	1×
Raleigh, NC	$89,110	+7%	1×

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

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