Average Civil Engineer Salary in South Africa for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Civil Engineer salary for 2026 in South Africa 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 South African rand. To keep things simple, we are using the ZAR currency code instead of the currency symbol R.

How Much Does a Civil Engineer Make in South Africa?

A Civil Engineer working in South Africa will typically earn around 367,200 ZAR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 181,600 ZAR to the highest average salary of 575,100 ZAR.

These are average salaries for a Civil Engineer in South Africa and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Civil Engineer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Civil 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 Civil Engineer Salaries in South Africa

So we've looked at the average salaries a Civil Engineer will earn in South Africa. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Civil Engineer can earn between 181,600 ZAR and 575,100 ZAR on average in South Africa. 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 a Civil Engineer in South Africa is 376,800 ZAR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 376,800 ZAR, and 50% of the population earn more than 376,800 ZAR.

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 Civil Engineer salary in South Africa, 25% of the population are earning less than 249,600 ZAR while 75% of the population earn more than 249,600 ZAR.

75% of the population earn less than 485,300 ZAR, and 25% of the population earn more than 485,300 ZAR.

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.

Civil Engineer Salary by Experience Level in South Africa

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 Civil 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. A Civil Engineer in South Africa that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 212,500 ZAR.
• 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Civil Engineer salary would increase to 273,000 ZAR.
• 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Civil Engineer, the average salary would be 381,800 ZAR.
• 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 471,700 ZAR.
• 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Civil Engineer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 504,400 ZAR.
• 20+ Years Experience. For a Civil Engineer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 535,900 ZAR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

Civil Engineer Salary by Education Level in South Africa

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 a Civil Engineer in South Africa 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. A Civil Engineer in South Africa with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 267,100 ZAR.
• Master's Degree. A Civil Engineer in South Africa with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 431,100 ZAR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Civil 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 South Africa, a male civil engineer will earn an average of 381,800 ZAR, while a female civil engineer will earn around 351,200 ZAR.

This means that a male civil engineer earns approximately 9% more than a female civil engineer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in South Africa

Civil Engineer Average Pay Raise in South Africa

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 a Civil Engineer in South Africa is around 9% every 20 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in South Africa is around 8% every 18 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 = ( 9 ÷ 20 ) × 12  = 5%

What this means is that a Civil Engineer in South Africa can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 5% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in South Africa for 2026

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

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

Civil Engineer Bonus and Incentive Rates in South Africa

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.

A Civil Engineer is a low bonus based job, with 30% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

70% 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%.

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 South Africa earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Civil Engineer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Civil Engineer in South Africa.

Salary Comparison by City

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