Average Piping Designer Salary in San Jose, Costa Rica for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Piping Designer salary for 2026 in San Jose 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 Costa Rican colón. To keep things simple, we are using the CRC currency code instead of the currency symbol .

How Much Does a Piping Designer Make in San Jose?

A Piping Designer working in San Jose will typically earn around 14,280,500 CRC per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 7,020,500 CRC to the highest average salary of 22,321,900 CRC.

Average Annual Salary14,280,500 CRC
Average Monthly Salary1,190,041 CRC
Average Lowest Salary7,020,500 CRC
Lowest Monthly Salary585,041 CRC
Average Highest Salary22,321,900 CRC
Highest Monthly Salary1,860,158 CRC

These are average salaries for a Piping Designer in San Jose and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Piping Designer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Piping Designer 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 Piping Designer Salaries in San Jose

So we've looked at the average salaries a Piping Designer will earn in San Jose. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Piping Designer can earn between 7,020,500 CRC and 22,321,900 CRC on average in San Jose. 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 Piping Designer in San Jose is 14,639,900 CRC. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 14,639,900 CRC, and 50% of the population earn more than 14,639,900 CRC.

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 Piping Designer salary in San Jose, 25% of the population are earning less than 9,744,400 CRC while 75% of the population earn more than 9,744,400 CRC.

75% of the population earn less than 18,840,100 CRC, and 25% of the population earn more than 18,840,100 CRC.

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.

Piping Designer Salary by Experience Level in San Jose

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 Piping Designer 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 Piping Designer in San Jose that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 8,329,200 CRC.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Piping Designer salary would increase to 10,704,700 CRC.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Piping Designer, the average salary would be 14,760,200 CRC.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 18,239,400 CRC.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Piping Designer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 19,558,300 CRC.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Piping Designer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 20,878,800 CRC.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
8,329,200 CRC
2-5 Years+29%
10,704,700 CRC
5-10 Years+38%
14,760,200 CRC
10-15 Years+24%
18,239,400 CRC
15-20 Years+7%
19,558,300 CRC
20+ Years+7%
20,878,800 CRC

Piping Designer Salary by Education Level in San Jose

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 Piping Designer in San Jose 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 Piping Designer in San Jose with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 10,403,600 CRC.
  • Master's Degree. A Piping Designer in San Jose with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 16,679,800 CRC.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree-
10,403,600 CRC
Master's Degree+60%
16,679,800 CRC

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 Costa Rica is around 11,800,000 to 35,400,000 CRC 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.

Piping Designer 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 San Jose, a male piping designer will earn an average of 13,679,300 CRC, while a female piping designer will earn around 12,958,200 CRC.

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

Average Salary by Gender Chart in San Jose

Male-
13,679,300 CRC
Female-6%
12,958,200 CRC

Piping Designer Average Pay Raise in San Jose

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 Piping Designer in San Jose is around 11% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Costa Rica is around 9% every 17 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 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Piping Designer in San Jose can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in San Jose for 2026

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

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

Banking-
7%
Energy-
5%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
1%
Travel-
8%
Construction-
6%
Education-
4%

Piping Designer Bonus and Incentive Rates in San Jose

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 Piping Designer is a low bonus based job, with 23% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

77% 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 1% to 2%.

Received Bonus-
23%
No Bonus-
77%

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 Costa Rica earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
29,399,100 CRC
Private Sector-6%
27,721,300 CRC

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Piping Designer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Piping Designer in San Jose.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Acoustics EngineerEngineering24,239,000 CRC
Assembly Engineering TechnicianEngineering19,200,400 CRC
Assistant Chief EngineerEngineering26,639,300 CRC
Associate EngineerEngineering22,321,900 CRC
AutoCAD DrafterEngineering14,760,200 CRC
Autocad OperatorEngineering15,719,900 CRC
Automation EngineerEngineering26,280,300 CRC
Automation EngineerEngineering27,118,300 CRC
Avionic System Support EngineerEngineering23,159,200 CRC
BMS EngineerEngineering22,681,800 CRC
Biochemical EngineerEngineering22,321,900 CRC
Bridge and Lock TenderEngineering14,038,300 CRC
Broadcast EngineerEngineering25,321,400 CRC
CAD Design EngineerEngineering24,841,800 CRC
CAD DesignerEngineering15,960,700 CRC
CAE EngineerEngineering25,079,200 CRC
Ceramics EngineerEngineering22,918,100 CRC
Chemical EngineerEngineering25,679,100 CRC
Civil DrafterEngineering16,079,800 CRC
Civil EngineerEngineering24,718,600 CRC
Civil Site EngineerEngineering26,880,900 CRC
Civil TechnicianEngineering15,118,700 CRC
Commissioning EngineerEngineering23,878,400 CRC
Communications EngineerEngineering26,639,300 CRC
Condition Monitoring EngineerEngineering20,518,900 CRC
Contract Associate EngineerEngineering22,681,800 CRC
Contract EngineerEngineering23,878,400 CRC
Control Systems EngineerEngineering25,200,800 CRC
Controls EngineerEngineering24,841,800 CRC
Controls Software EngineerEngineering21,599,000 CRC
Corrosion EngineerEngineering22,799,000 CRC
Design EngineerEngineering25,801,200 CRC
Director of EngineeringEngineering50,158,700 CRC
DrafterEngineering15,360,400 CRC
Drafting ManagerEngineering29,761,800 CRC
Drilling EngineerEngineering23,399,000 CRC
Drilling ForemanEngineering7,561,700 CRC
Electrical DraughtsmanEngineering12,958,200 CRC
Electrical EngineerEngineering27,841,200 CRC
Electrical Engineering ManagerEngineering34,679,400 CRC
Electromechanical Engineering TechnologistEngineering25,919,400 CRC
Electromechanical Equipment AssemblerEngineering13,319,300 CRC
Energy EngineerEngineering25,440,400 CRC
Engine AssemblerEngineering11,123,200 CRC
EngineerEngineering26,880,900 CRC
Engineering Account ManagerEngineering27,118,300 CRC
Engineering Chief DesignerEngineering27,601,100 CRC
Engineering ConsultantEngineering33,721,200 CRC
Engineering Key Account ManagerEngineering35,521,100 CRC
Engineering Lab TechnicianEngineering22,441,700 CRC
Engineering ManagerEngineering33,481,400 CRC
Engineering Planning ManagerEngineering34,919,600 CRC
Engineering Production ManagerEngineering42,119,100 CRC
Engineering Project AnalystEngineering29,278,200 CRC
Engineering Project Coordinator Engineering29,399,100 CRC
Engineering Project DirectorEngineering50,639,500 CRC
Engineering Project LeaderEngineering33,240,500 CRC
Engineering Project ManagerEngineering34,441,600 CRC
Engineering Research and Development ManagerEngineering39,840,400 CRC
Engineering Safety CoordinatorEngineering20,281,100 CRC
Engineering Sales ManagerEngineering32,398,700 CRC
Engineering TechnicianEngineering19,078,500 CRC
Engineering TechnologistEngineering18,840,100 CRC
Environmental EngineerEngineering23,759,100 CRC
Equipment EngineerEngineering23,280,700 CRC
Equipment Engineering ManagerEngineering32,038,500 CRC
EstimatorEngineering22,081,800 CRC
Fabrication SpecialistEngineering17,159,700 CRC
FabricatorEngineering11,653,500 CRC
Facade EngineerEngineering24,239,000 CRC
Fiber AnalystEngineering14,280,500 CRC
Field EngineerEngineering26,639,300 CRC
Field Engineering ManagerEngineering41,280,700 CRC
Fire EngineerEngineering25,801,200 CRC
Fitter and TurnerEngineering7,848,500 CRC
Forestry Strategic PlannerEngineering29,519,900 CRC
Generation EngineerEngineering26,280,300 CRC
Genetic EngineerEngineering27,960,400 CRC
Geological EngineerEngineering26,280,300 CRC
Geotechnical EngineerEngineering27,361,200 CRC
HSE ProfessionalEngineering22,799,000 CRC
HVAC EngineerEngineering27,479,000 CRC
HVAC SupervisorEngineering22,799,000 CRC
Heavy Equipment MechanicEngineering13,798,900 CRC
Highway EngineerEngineering24,478,500 CRC
Industrial EngineerEngineering23,759,100 CRC
Industrial Engineering TechnologistEngineering23,280,700 CRC
Instrument EngineerEngineering23,399,000 CRC
Instrument TechnicianEngineering13,679,300 CRC
Instrumentation DesignerEngineering21,121,400 CRC
Instrumentation EngineerEngineering25,679,100 CRC
Instrumentation ManagerEngineering23,520,800 CRC
Instrumentation and Control EngineerEngineering23,399,000 CRC
Irrigation EngineerEngineering25,200,800 CRC
Licensed Aircraft EngineerEngineering26,520,600 CRC
Locomotive EngineerEngineering23,759,100 CRC
Maintenance EngineerEngineering23,159,200 CRC
Maintenance FitterEngineering9,094,100 CRC
Maintenance ManagerEngineering25,321,400 CRC
Manufacturing EngineerEngineering25,079,200 CRC
Marine EngineerEngineering24,958,800 CRC
Materials EngineerEngineering23,159,200 CRC
Materials ResearcherEngineering22,558,900 CRC
Materials TechnicianEngineering18,598,500 CRC
Mechanical Design EngineerEngineering25,679,100 CRC
Mechanical DesignerEngineering21,961,700 CRC
Mechanical EngineerEngineering26,520,600 CRC
Mechanical Engineering ManagerEngineering33,360,800 CRC
Mechanical InspectorEngineering24,599,500 CRC
Mechanical and Electrical EngineerEngineering26,280,300 CRC
Mechatronics EngineerEngineering25,919,400 CRC
Mining EngineerEngineering23,638,700 CRC
Oil and Petrochemical EngineerEngineering26,040,800 CRC
Optical EngineerEngineering23,878,400 CRC
Optical Instrument AssemblerEngineering13,079,500 CRC
PCB AssemblerEngineering9,133,400 CRC
Photonics EngineerEngineering26,639,300 CRC
Photonics TechnicianEngineering22,918,100 CRC
Pipeline EngineerEngineering23,638,700 CRC
Piping EngineerEngineering23,759,100 CRC
Planning EngineerEngineering25,919,400 CRC
Pressure Vessel InspectorEngineering11,856,900 CRC
Principal Cost EngineerEngineering26,158,200 CRC
Principal EngineerEngineering24,000,900 CRC
Principal Support EngineerEngineering25,321,400 CRC
Process EngineerEngineering24,841,800 CRC
Process OperatorEngineering14,519,400 CRC
Product Development EngineerEngineering24,841,800 CRC
Product Development TechnicianEngineering18,720,200 CRC
Product EngineerEngineering26,280,300 CRC
Product Safety EngineerEngineering24,119,700 CRC
Production EngineerEngineering25,440,400 CRC
Project EngineerEngineering25,440,400 CRC
Proposal ManagerEngineering31,320,700 CRC
Purchasing EngineerEngineering23,638,700 CRC
Quality Assurance EngineerEngineering25,079,200 CRC
Rail EngineerEngineering24,239,000 CRC
Regional Field EngineerEngineering28,200,200 CRC
Robotics EngineerEngineering28,560,900 CRC
Robotics TechnicianEngineering19,678,200 CRC
Safety EngineerEngineering25,321,400 CRC
Safety InspectorEngineering19,078,500 CRC
Safety ManagerEngineering29,519,900 CRC
Safety OfficerEngineering12,361,500 CRC
Sales EngineerEngineering27,721,300 CRC
Scheduling EngineerEngineering23,638,700 CRC
Service EngineerEngineering27,001,700 CRC
Solar EngineerEngineering25,561,400 CRC
Staff EngineerEngineering25,321,400 CRC
Static Equipment EngineerEngineering23,399,000 CRC
Stationary EngineerEngineering21,719,900 CRC
Stress EngineerEngineering22,198,500 CRC
Structural Analysis EngineerEngineering24,599,500 CRC
Structural DesignerEngineering20,999,200 CRC
Structural EngineerEngineering23,520,800 CRC
Structural TechnicianEngineering16,198,300 CRC
Supply Chain SpecialistEngineering23,638,700 CRC
SurveyorEngineering18,359,600 CRC
Technical Affairs OfficerEngineering12,361,500 CRC
Technical AssistantEngineering13,079,500 CRC
Technical EngineerEngineering21,961,700 CRC
Technical Support EngineerEngineering20,518,900 CRC
Tender EngineerEngineering21,961,700 CRC
Test Development EngineerEngineering24,599,500 CRC
Test EngineerEngineering24,239,000 CRC
Transportation EngineerEngineering22,918,100 CRC
Validation EngineerEngineering21,841,900 CRC
Verification EngineerEngineering23,159,200 CRC
Wastewater EngineerEngineering25,561,400 CRC
Wind Energy EngineerEngineering25,440,400 CRC
Wind Energy Operations ManagerEngineering31,800,300 CRC
Work PlannerEngineering16,679,800 CRC

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