Civil Engineers salary in Santa Maria, CA

Median pay for civil engineers in Santa Maria, CA: $99,790/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $74,380 – $163,320 · about 450 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($88,630) by +$11,160 (+13%).

What it's really worth in Santa Maria

With Santa Maria's cost of living at 114 (US=100), that $99,790 has the buying power of about $87,745 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $92,332 · median home $1,005,339 · median rent $3,338/mo.

Full Santa Maria cost of living & taxes →

How Santa Maria ranks for this job

On raw pay, Santa Maria, CA is 28th of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Santa Maria's cost of living is applied, it ranks 132nd.

The headline number flatters Santa Maria. 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 Santa Maria

A median home in Santa Maria, CA costs $1,005,339 — about 10.1× 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 $3,338/mo works out at 40% 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 Santa Maria.

Metro	Median pay	vs Santa Maria	Rent vs Santa Maria
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+26%	0.7×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+23%	1×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+20%	1.1×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	+10%	0.4×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Santa Maria	Rent vs Santa Maria
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+26%	0.7×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+23%	1×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+20%	1.1×
Fresno, CA	$108,570	+9%	0.6×

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

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