Average Aeronautical Engineer Salary in Washington D.C., United States for 2025

In this article, we will look at the average Aeronautical Engineer salary for 2025 in Washington D.C. and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does an Aeronautical Engineer Make in Washington D.C.?

An Aeronautical Engineer working in Washington D.C. will typically earn around 105,800 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 57,200 USD to the highest average salary of 158,900 USD.

Average Annual Salary105,800 USD
Average Monthly Salary8,816 USD
Average Lowest Salary57,200 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary4,766 USD
Average Highest Salary158,900 USD
Highest Monthly Salary13,241 USD

These are average salaries for an Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for an Aeronautical Engineer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Aeronautical Engineer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Aeronautical Engineer Salaries in Washington D.C.

So we've looked at the average salaries an Aeronautical Engineer will earn in Washington D.C.. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that an Aeronautical Engineer can earn between 57,200 USD and 158,900 USD on average in Washington D.C.. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for an Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. is 98,100 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 98,100 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 98,100 USD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Aeronautical Engineer salary in Washington D.C., 25% of the population are earning less than 69,800 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 69,800 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 115,600 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 115,600 USD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Aeronautical Engineer Salary by Experience Level in Washington D.C.

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Aeronautical Engineer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. An Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 64,400 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Aeronautical Engineer salary would increase to 83,800 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Aeronautical Engineer, the average salary would be 109,700 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 130,500 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Aeronautical Engineer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 142,300 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For an Aeronautical Engineer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 153,800 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
64,400 USD
2-5 Years+26%
83,800 USD
5-10 Years+32%
109,700 USD
10-15 Years+18%
130,500 USD
15-20 Years+11%
142,300 USD
20+ Years+6%
153,800 USD

Aeronautical Engineer Salary by Education Level in Washington D.C.

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for an Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. An Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 83,300 USD.
  • Master's Degree. An Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 128,400 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree-
83,300 USD
Master's Degree+53%
128,400 USD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Aeronautical Engineer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Washington D.C., a male aeronautical engineer will earn an average of 105,200 USD, while a female aeronautical engineer will earn around 99,600 USD.

This means that a male aeronautical engineer earns approximately 6% more than a female aeronautical engineer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Washington D.C.

Male-
105,200 USD
Female-6%
99,600 USD

Aeronautical Engineer Average Pay Raise in Washington D.C.

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for an Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. is around 11% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that an Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C. can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Washington D.C. for 2025

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
4%
Energy-
8%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
7%
Travel-
2%
Construction-
6%
Education-
1%

Aeronautical Engineer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Washington D.C.

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

An Aeronautical Engineer is a low bonus based job, with 34% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

66% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus-
34%
No Bonus-
66%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
98,800 USD
Private Sector-6%
93,100 USD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to an Aeronautical Engineer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Aeronautical Engineer in Washington D.C..

Job TitleCategorySalary
Aerospace EngineerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense127,600 USD
Aerospace TechnicianAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense93,800 USD
Air Crew MemberAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense58,700 USD
Air Crew OfficerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense64,400 USD
Air Traffic AssistantAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense55,100 USD
Air Traffic ControllerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense102,700 USD
Aircraft AssemblerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense51,300 USD
Aircraft Body RepairerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense46,700 USD
Aircraft CaptainAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense153,800 USD
Aircraft ElectricianAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense54,100 USD
Aircraft Electronics TechicianAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense51,300 USD
Aircraft EngineerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense100,700 USD
Aircraft FuelerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense45,000 USD
Aircraft Maintenance EngineerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense98,100 USD
Aircraft Maintenance ManagerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense151,800 USD
Aircraft Maintenance SupervisorAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense100,700 USD
Aircraft Maintenance TechnicianAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense47,400 USD
Aircraft MechanicAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense52,000 USD
Aircraft PilotAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense172,200 USD
Aircraft Pneudraulics RepairerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense49,400 USD
Aircraft Quality AssuranceAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense132,000 USD
Aircraft Rigging AssemblerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense52,300 USD
Aircraft Service TechnicianAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense45,600 USD
Airfield Management SpecialistAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense148,300 USD
Airfield Operations SpecialistAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense114,900 USD
Airline Cabin CrewAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense103,600 USD
Airline CopilotAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense102,700 USD
Airline PilotAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense161,300 USD
Airlines Sales DirectorAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense192,600 USD
Airlines Sales ManagerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense168,700 USD
Airlines Structural AssemblerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense44,300 USD
Airport Services AgentAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense65,900 USD
Airport Services ManagerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense195,200 USD
Airport Services SupervisorAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense111,700 USD
Assistant Aircraft MechanicAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense40,200 USD
Aviation AnalystAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense128,200 USD
Aviation InspectorAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense112,700 USD
Aviation ManagerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense204,900 USD
Aviation Operations ControllerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense108,200 USD
Aviation Resources ManagerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense177,100 USD
Aviation Safety AssistantAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense56,100 USD
Aviation Safety ManagerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense189,800 USD
Aviation Safety OfficerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense105,200 USD
Aviation TechnicianAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense49,400 USD
Cargo ExecutiveAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense93,200 USD
Cargo and Freight AgentAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense40,300 USD
Chief PilotAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense172,300 USD
First OfficerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense68,800 USD
Fleet ControllerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense153,800 USD
Fleet Management OfficerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense66,900 USD
Flight AttendantAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense69,400 USD
Flight PlannerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense91,500 USD
Flight SchedulerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense78,200 USD
Flight Simulation EngineerAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense87,400 USD
Freight and Cargo InspectorAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense69,700 USD
Helicopter PilotAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense107,300 USD
Loading Bridge OperatorAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense41,400 USD
PilotAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense160,600 USD
Ramp AgentAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense45,600 USD
Reservations Sales AgentAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense50,600 USD
Safety and Quality SpecialistAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense100,700 USD
Test PilotAirlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense119,700 USD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
Atlanta99,600 USD
Austin109,000 USD
Baltimore97,400 USD
Boston100,700 USD
Bristol80,700 USD
Chicago118,900 USD
Cincinnati83,700 USD
Cleveland88,300 USD
Dallas112,700 USD
Denver111,700 USD
Detroit105,200 USD
Honolulu86,100 USD
Houston121,800 USD
Indianapolis114,600 USD
Iowa City81,600 USD
Jacksonville109,000 USD
Kansas City102,700 USD
Kent83,300 USD
Las Vegas102,700 USD
Long Beach98,000 USD
Los Angeles124,500 USD
Memphis98,000 USD
Miami92,000 USD
Minneapolis96,500 USD
New Orleans89,800 USD
New York127,700 USD
Oakland94,900 USD
Oklahoma City107,300 USD
Orlando86,600 USD
Philadelphia119,700 USD
Phoenix118,900 USD
Sacramento102,700 USD
San Antonio114,300 USD
San Diego116,400 USD
San Francisco107,700 USD
San Jose111,700 USD
Seattle112,700 USD
Tampa93,300 USD
Vancouver83,000 USD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.

StateAverage Salary
Alabama102,700 USD
Alaska90,000 USD
Arizona114,900 USD
Arkansas105,200 USD
California115,600 USD
Colorado105,200 USD
Connecticut100,500 USD
Delaware91,700 USD
District of Columbia86,600 USD
Florida117,100 USD
Georgia114,900 USD
Hawaii94,800 USD
Idaho93,600 USD
Illinois108,200 USD
Indiana102,700 USD
Iowa105,200 USD
Kansas103,600 USD
Kentucky105,200 USD
Louisiana103,600 USD
Maine93,800 USD
Maryland102,700 USD
Massachusetts112,700 USD
Michigan114,900 USD
Minnesota107,300 USD
Mississippi100,200 USD
Missouri105,200 USD
Montana88,700 USD
Nebraska103,600 USD
Nevada103,600 USD
New Hampshire97,600 USD
New Jersey108,200 USD
New Mexico97,600 USD
New York111,700 USD
North Carolina107,300 USD
North Dakota92,600 USD
Ohio114,900 USD
Oklahoma103,600 USD
Oregon100,700 USD
Pennsylvania108,200 USD
Rhode Island88,600 USD
South Carolina109,000 USD
South Dakota94,200 USD
Tennessee109,700 USD
Texas114,900 USD
Utah94,000 USD
Vermont88,600 USD
Virginia116,400 USD
Washington112,700 USD
West Virginia99,600 USD
Wisconsin107,300 USD
Wyoming89,300 USD

Cite This Resource

Use the tool below to generate a reference for this page in common citation styles.

  • <a href="https://worldsalaries.com/average-aeronautical-engineer-salary-in-washington-d-c/united-states/">Average Aeronautical Engineer Salary in Washington D.C., United States for 2025</a>

  • "Average Aeronautical Engineer Salary in Washington D.C., United States for 2025." World Salaries. Accessed December 31, 2025. https://worldsalaries.com/average-aeronautical-engineer-salary-in-washington-d-c/united-states/.

  • "Average Aeronautical Engineer Salary in Washington D.C., United States for 2025." World Salaries, https://worldsalaries.com/average-aeronautical-engineer-salary-in-washington-d-c/united-states/. Accessed 31 December, 2025.

  • Average Aeronautical Engineer Salary in Washington D.C., United States for 2025. World Salaries. Retrieved from https://worldsalaries.com/average-aeronautical-engineer-salary-in-washington-d-c/united-states/.