Salary of a Biomedical Engineer in USA

National Statistics

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15,280 individuals had employment in the biomedical engineering field as of May 2010. The average hourly wage for a worker in the field was $40.76, while the median hourly wage was $39.20. The average annual salary in the United States was $84,780, while the median annual salary throughout the nation was $81,540. At the two extremes of the salary range, the lowest 10 percent of workers in the field earned $49,690 or less each year, whereas the top 10 percent earned $126,990 or more.

Salary by Area

• The top-paying state for engineers with a biomedical concentration is Alaska, with an average salary of $152,180. After Alaska, the highest-paying states for biomedical engineers are California, $95,450, Minnesota $94,870, Massachusetts $94,720 and Arizona $92,440. The top-paying metropolitan area is the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area of California, where a biomedical engineer earns an average hourly wage of $55.56 and an average annual salary of $115,560. The top-paying non-metropolitan area is Northeast Indiana, with an average hourly wage of $32.66 and an average annual salary of $67,930.

Salary by Industry

• The top-paying industry for all biomedical engineers is in semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing, with an average hourly wage of $53.60 and an average annual salary of $111,480. The second-highest paying job sector for biomedical engineering is in the offices of physicians, which provide an average annual salary of $110,800. Jobs in scientific research and development services provide an annual average salary of $93,930, while average remuneration is $92,850 for the management, scientific, and technical consulting services industry.

Industries With the Most Jobs

• Although it would be nice to be employed in the highest-paying sectors, it is more likely that you will find work in the industry that offers the most jobs. For biomedical engineers in all specialties, the medical equipment and supplies manufacturing industry supplies the most jobs and offers an average annual salary of $83,740. Other sectors that offer the most jobs include the scientific research and development industries that average an annual salary of $93,930 and the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industries with an average annual salary of $82,810