Computer Hardware Engineers · SOC 17-2061

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Computer Hardware Engineerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for computer hardware engineers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (8 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 93 metro areas

Computer Hardware Engineers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$209,860	7,940	7.0
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$203,890	2,810	1.2
3	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$202,390	120	0.3
4	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$175,110	430	1.3
5	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$174,440	3,330	2.2
6	Manchester-Nashua, NH	$174,140	130	0.7
7	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$172,210	190	0.5
8	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$169,370	80	0.8
9	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$169,120	1,410	0.7
10	Fort Collins-Loveland, CO	$168,990	490	2.9
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$167,600	2,840	1.0
12	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$167,010	2,820	1.2
13	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$165,530	3,850	3.0
14	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$162,870	1,570	0.4
15	Boulder, CO	$161,720	650	3.4
16	Cedar Rapids, IA	$161,160	60	0.4
17	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$160,300	1,780	0.2
18	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$159,480	1,790	0.6
19	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$158,530	1,870	0.3
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$156,750	740	0.5
21	Utica-Rome, NY	$151,330	90	0.7
22	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	$150,530	500	2.0
23	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$148,440	60	0.3
24	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$144,660	970	0.6
25	Urban Honolulu, HI	$143,020	60	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Computer Hardware Engineers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.