Civil Engineer - Federal Salaries of 2021

Pay Rates for "Civil Engineer"

How much does a Civil Engineer in the federal government get paid? $105,700.14* *Based on the 2021 average.

4,254 EMPLOYEES

$449.44M TOTAL SALARY

GS MOST COMMON PAYSCALE

Civil Engineer was the 67th most popular job in the U.S. Government in 2021, with 4,254 employed. The most common payscale was the general schedule payscale.

In 2021, the Federal Highway Administration hired the most employees titled Civil Engineering, with an average salary of $110,241.

Government Civil Engineering jobs are classified under the General Schedule (GS) payscale. The minimum paygrade for a Civil Engineering job is GS-6, and the highest paygrade that can be attained within this job series is GS-15. Remember that the starting and maximum yearly pay listed above reflect base pay only - your actual salary will be higher based on the Locality Pay Adjustment for the area in which you work.

Job Description

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions fall under this job category. Due to the growing focus of them STEM fields, individuals in this job category tend to advance more quickly than employees in the other job categories. Jobs in this category are being added quickly and many organizations have trouble finding qualified individuals. Individuals in this job category typically recieve pormotions of 2 grade increases at a time until they reach GS-12.

Agencies that have hired a Civil Engineer

Agency	Employees Hired	Average Salary
Federal Highway Administration	938	$110,240.60
Bureau of Reclamation	709	$113,541.35
Forest Service	565	$85,132.08
Natural Resources Conservation Service	504	$86,579.48
Federal Aviation Administration	395	$113,083.82
Federal Emergency Management Agency	146	$105,873.14
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	125	$136,274.89
Bureau of Land Management	108	$88,916.56
Department of Energy	104	$123,635.90
National Park Service	92	$102,003.46
Indian Affairs	89	$109,229.82
Rural Housing Service	61	$91,389.21
Public Buildings Service	54	$116,652.65
U.S. Coast Guard	41	$106,199.85
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service	30	$105,103.33
Geological Survey	29	$102,900.14
National Institute of Standards and Technology	28	$142,373.86
Mine Safety and Health Administration	27	$106,141.67
Economic Development Administration	23	$104,868.30
Nuclear Regulatory Commission	23	$152,860.70
International Boundary & Water Commission: U.S. & Mexico	21	$103,559.90
Department of State	15	$148,881.60
Office of the Secretary (Department of Veterans Affairs)	14	$120,722.50
Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement	14	$131,235.21
Agricultural Research Service	13	$138,087.77
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	10	$124,749.10
Smithsonian Institution (Exchange Sep Boards of Trust)	7	$104,724.00
Maritime Administration	6	$113,543.00
Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement	6	$95,885.17
Occupational Safety and Health Administration	4	$141,943.75
Federal Railroad Administration	4	$141,830.50
Environmental Protection Agency	4	$126,618.00
John Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field	3	$103,481.00
Office of Secretary of Transportation	3	$110,298.67
Indian Health Service	3	$112,292.00
U.S. Secret Service	3	$120,546.67
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner	3	$144,193.33
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management	3	$122,562.00
Goddard Space Flight Center	2	$121,672.00
National Protection and Programs Directorate	2	$131,007.00
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers	2	$109,036.50
National Cemetery Administration	2	$114,099.50
U.S. Agency for International Development	2	$160,716.00
Employment and Training Administration	2	$123,320.00
Veterans Health Administration	2	$86,748.00
Federal Bureau of Investigation	1	$136,261.00
Departmental Administration	1	$159,286.00
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service	1	$114,059.00
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	1	$127,352.00
National Institutes of Health	1	$52,175.00
National Science Foundation	1	$193,447.00
Broadcasting Board of Governors	1	$159,286.00
Presidio Trust	1	$133,202.00
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation	1	$139,165.00
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System	1	$114,059.00
St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation	1	$145,375.00
National Transportation Safety Board	1	$140,836.00
Dryden Flight Research Center	1	$115,746.00

Civil Engineer Pay Distribution

The average pay for a Civil Engineer is $105,700.14. The highest paid Civil Engineer made $199,300 in 2021.

Common Civil Engineer Payscales

Payscale	Number of Civil Engineering Employees
GS - General Schedule	3,681
FV - Federal Aviation Administration Core Compensation Plan	395
IC - Employees Holding Incident Management Cadre Of On-call Response/recovery Employees(core)positions	84
GG - Grades Similar To General Schedule	43
ZP - Scientific And Engineering Professional	36
ST - Scientific And Professional	2
EH - Advisory Committee Member (5 U.s.c. 3109)	2
ED - Expert (5 U.s.c. 3109)	2
AD - Administratively Determined Rates, Not Elsewhere Specified	2
GM - Employees Covered By The Performance Management And Recognition System (pmrs) Termination Provisions	2
ES - Senior Executive Service	1
NN - Employees In The National Nuclear Security Administration's Engineering And Scientific Career Path	1
CG - Corporate Graded	1
EI - Advisory Committee Member (other)	1
SN - Senior Level System	1

Starting Paygrade:	$36,070.00 / year base pay at paygrade GS-6, Step 1
Maximum Paygrade:	$152,771.00 / year base pay at paygrade GS-15, Step 10
Category:	Professional and Scientific
Occupation Family:	0800 ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE GROUP

Other Jobs at the GS-6 Paygrade

GS-6 is the starting paygrade for Civil Engineering jobs. Here are some other Federal Government jobs that can be held by employees at the GS-6 paygrade.

Occupation	Occupation Category	Starting Paygrade	Maximum Paygrade
Building Management	Administrative and Management	GS-4	GS-15
Wildlife Biology	Professional and Scientific	GS-6	GS-15
Administrative Officer	Administrative and Management	GS-4	GS-15
Equipment Operator	Clerical and Administrative Support	GS-1	GS-9
Intelligence	Administrative and Management	GS-4	GS-15

Search for Civil Engineering Jobs

Average Civil Engineering Pay Trend from 2004 to 2021

In 2004, the average pay for a Civil Engineer was $77,359. Since then, the average pay has increased to $105,700 in 2021.

Data Sources

The information provided on these pages is sourced from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) dataset. Postal Service data is managed exclusively by the USPS . All information is displayed unmodified and as provided by the source agency.

Federal employee salaries are public information under open government laws (5 U.S.C. § 552). FederalPay provides this data in the interest of government transparency — employee data may not be used for commercial soliciting or vending of any kind. Learn more about the FederalPay Employees Dataset here.

The series code of this occupation is 0810.