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Average Research Engineer Salary in Mexico for 2026

A research engineer in Mexico earns about 320,500 MXN a year. That's 20% below the national average of 398,300 MXN.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Mexico sit around 152,100 MXN a year, while the very top stretches to 507,300 MXN. Everything on this page is in Mexican peso (MXN, symbol $), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Mexico, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does a research engineer make in Mexico?

Average salary
320,500 MXN
26,708 MXN per month
Lowest reported
152,100 MXN
12,675 MXN per month
Highest reported
507,300 MXN
42,275 MXN per month

A typical research engineer working in Mexico brings home around 26,708 MXN a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 152,100 MXN, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 507,300 MXN for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior research engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How research engineer pay ranges in Mexico

A good way to think about salary in Mexico is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all research engineers in Mexico earn less than 340,400 MXN a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 218,900 MXN (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 451,000 MXN (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of research engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 152,100 MXN. The highest stretch to 507,300 MXN, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

152,100
Low
340,400
Median
507,300
High
218,900
25th
451,000
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in MXN

Research engineer pay by experience in Mexico

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a research engineer in Mexico, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical research engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    172,200 MXN
  • 2-5 Years
    +39% from previous
    239,000 MXN
  • 5-10 Years
    +43% from previous
    341,400 MXN
  • 10-15 Years
    +22% from previous
    417,200 MXN
  • 15-20 Years
    +6% from previous
    442,200 MXN
  • 20+ Years
    +8% from previous
    478,000 MXN

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 43%. That is the point at which a research engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Research engineer pay by education in Mexico

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving research engineer pay in Mexico. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average research engineer salary in Mexico broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Certificate or Diploma
    207,700 MXN
  • Bachelor's Degree
    +59% from previous
    330,700 MXN
  • Master's Degree
    +39% from previous
    459,700 MXN

Research engineer gender pay gap in Mexico

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Mexico is no exception. Male research engineers in Mexico earn an average of 341,400 MXN a year, while female research engineers earn around 305,600 MXN. That works out to a 12% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Research Engineer gender pay gap

10%

Men earn this much more than women on average in Mexico.

Men 341,400 MXN
Women 305,600 MXN

Pay raises for a research engineer in Mexico

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in Mexico sees a raise of about 12% every 16 months, which works out to roughly 9% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in Mexico, the national average raise is around 8% every 18 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in Mexico:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
    2%
  • Construction
  • Education
    1%

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Research engineer bonus rates in Mexico

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

57%

57% of research engineers in Mexico reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a research engineer a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 2% to 7% of base salary. The remaining 43% of research engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in Mexico

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Research engineer: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in Mexico is about 8% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

8%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Mexico on average.

Public sector 415,900 MXN
Private sector 384,200 MXN

Research engineer salary by city in Mexico

Research engineer pay is not even across Mexico. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Ecatepec de Morelos
  • Mexico City
  • Monterrey
  • Chihuahua
  • Aguascalientes
  • Naucalpan
  • Tijuana
  • Zapopan
  • Puebla
  • Cancun
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
Ecatepec de MorelosCity419,400 MXN382,600 MXN225,300-633,100 MXN
Mexico CityCity409,000 MXN433,400 MXN192,600-648,200 MXN
MonterreyCity407,300 MXN382,600 MXN215,100-620,300 MXN
ChihuahuaCity406,300 MXN389,200 MXN209,700-619,000 MXN
AguascalientesCity398,300 MXN388,100 MXN204,700-615,000 MXN
NaucalpanCity394,800 MXN361,500 MXN210,500-596,100 MXN
TijuanaCity394,300 MXN412,000 MXN190,500-620,300 MXN
ZapopanCity392,300 MXN417,200 MXN185,100-620,300 MXN
PueblaCity388,100 MXN388,100 MXN196,800-605,700 MXN
CancunCity384,500 MXN394,800 MXN189,300-600,000 MXN
GuadalajaraCity384,200 MXN367,900 MXN197,600-585,900 MXN
NezahualcoyotlCity383,300 MXN389,200 MXN187,300-596,100 MXN
AcapulcoCity383,300 MXN366,200 MXN197,600-582,700 MXN
SaltilloCity381,800 MXN348,300 MXN204,000-573,500 MXN
MoreliaCity378,800 MXN378,800 MXN190,500-587,800 MXN
LeonCity378,800 MXN371,100 MXN191,600-583,000 MXN
Tlalnepantla de BazCity378,300 MXN354,000 MXN200,000-575,100 MXN
San Luis PotosiCity377,200 MXN407,100 MXN172,400-597,800 MXN
HermosilloCity371,100 MXN394,300 MXN174,000-587,800 MXN
CuliacanCity369,300 MXN384,500 MXN175,900-581,000 MXN
MeridaCity367,900 MXN367,900 MXN183,700-568,500 MXN
TlaquepaqueCity367,200 MXN362,200 MXN189,300-566,900 MXN
GuadalupeCity366,200 MXN381,800 MXN174,000-575,100 MXN
San Nicolas de los GarzaCity365,400 MXN378,300 MXN172,200-568,500 MXN
MatamorosCity365,400 MXN384,500 MXN172,200-573,500 MXN
TorreonCity363,000 MXN341,900 MXN191,600-553,400 MXN
MexicaliCity362,200 MXN367,200 MXN175,900-562,600 MXN
QueretaroCity361,600 MXN389,200 MXN164,200-571,300 MXN
Cuautitlan IzcalliCity361,500 MXN361,500 MXN181,600-562,200 MXN
DurangoCity359,900 MXN351,900 MXN183,600-552,400 MXN
Tuxtla GutierrezCity359,900 MXN345,100 MXN187,500-548,500 MXN
Nuevo LaredoCity353,600 MXN383,300 MXN161,600-562,200 MXN
ReynosaCity353,600 MXN325,600 MXN192,000-535,800 MXN
ChimalhuacanCity351,200 MXN375,200 MXN164,200-556,000 MXN
VeracruzCity351,200 MXN361,600 MXN172,400-551,200 MXN
CelayaCity345,700 MXN317,700 MXN187,300-524,700 MXN
MazatlanCity345,700 MXN361,600 MXN168,100-543,200 MXN
TolucaCity344,600 MXN325,800 MXN183,600-524,700 MXN
TonalaCity341,900 MXN341,900 MXN172,200-533,100 MXN
Ciudad Lopez MateosCity340,400 MXN367,200 MXN158,700-541,700 MXN
XicoCity340,400 MXN362,200 MXN159,400-535,900 MXN
XalapaCity340,000 MXN325,600 MXN176,800-519,300 MXN
Ciudad ApodacaCity340,000 MXN312,400 MXN183,600-510,300 MXN
General EscobedoCity339,100 MXN352,000 MXN161,300-528,500 MXN
CoacalcoCity335,100 MXN315,700 MXN175,900-507,300 MXN
IxtapalucaCity332,100 MXN362,200 MXN152,300-533,100 MXN
Ciudad Santa CatarinaCity330,900 MXN318,800 MXN172,200-504,500 MXN
CuernavacaCity330,700 MXN339,100 MXN161,300-514,800 MXN
VillahermosaCity330,700 MXN322,600 MXN167,100-507,300 MXN
EnsenadaCity327,800 MXN301,300 MXN176,800-492,700 MXN
IrapuatoCity327,300 MXN308,300 MXN172,200-500,100 MXN
TepicCity325,800 MXN325,800 MXN161,300-502,200 MXN
Ciudad ObregonCity319,600 MXN327,800 MXN158,700-500,100 MXN
TehuacanCity318,800 MXN311,700 MXN161,300-489,500 MXN
UruapanCity318,800 MXN297,000 MXN169,000-483,800 MXN
Los MochisCity313,700 MXN288,700 MXN172,200-475,700 MXN
Gomez PalacioCity313,700 MXN340,400 MXN146,200-500,100 MXN
TampicoCity312,400 MXN297,000 MXN161,300-478,100 MXN
Ciudad VictoriaCity312,400 MXN305,600 MXN159,100-478,000 MXN
Soledad de Graciano SanchezCity311,700 MXN301,800 MXN161,300-476,600 MXN
Villa Nicolas RomeroCity311,700 MXN325,800 MXN151,800-489,500 MXN
CampecheCity311,700 MXN311,700 MXN157,600-483,800 MXN
PachucaCity309,800 MXN327,800 MXN146,200-489,600 MXN
Los Reyes la PazCity307,400 MXN325,800 MXN142,300-483,400 MXN
NogalesCity301,600 MXN309,800 MXN148,300-472,100 MXN
ChilpancingoCity297,000 MXN312,400 MXN142,300-467,700 MXN
OaxacaCity296,000 MXN296,000 MXN150,000-459,300 MXN
Ojo de AguaCity296,000 MXN277,400 MXN158,700-450,300 MXN
TapachulaCity294,700 MXN288,100 MXN151,800-450,300 MXN
San Pablo de las SalinasCity288,700 MXN294,700 MXN142,300-453,200 MXN
CoatzacoalcosCity288,700 MXN296,000 MXN143,200-454,300 MXN
San Cristobal de las CasasCity288,100 MXN297,000 MXN139,100-451,000 MXN
La PazCity286,400 MXN305,600 MXN136,200-455,400 MXN
BuenavistaCity286,400 MXN312,400 MXN130,400-457,300 MXN
JiutepecCity283,700 MXN301,700 MXN136,100-453,200 MXN
MetepecCity283,400 MXN301,700 MXN128,500-448,500 MXN
Puerto VallartaCity282,500 MXN263,200 MXN152,300-431,100 MXN
AcunaCity282,500 MXN275,200 MXN148,300-433,800 MXN
MonclovaCity282,500 MXN296,000 MXN137,400-447,300 MXN
Cholula de RivadabiaCity282,500 MXN267,100 MXN152,100-430,500 MXN
ChicoloapanCity282,300 MXN282,300 MXN142,300-437,900 MXN
Poza RicaCity281,500 MXN271,300 MXN148,300-431,100 MXN
Ciudad del CarmenCity277,400 MXN273,300 MXN142,300-426,700 MXN
Piedras NegrasCity275,800 MXN297,000 MXN125,700-437,900 MXN
Ciudad JuarezCity275,200 MXN296,000 MXN127,700-433,800 MXN
SalamancaCity273,300 MXN273,300 MXN136,200-420,100 MXN
ChalcoCity268,900 MXN257,700 MXN138,800-412,000 MXN
Boca del RioCity267,100 MXN282,500 MXN127,700-424,300 MXN
Zamora de HidalgoCity266,000 MXN245,300 MXN142,300-403,100 MXN
San Juan del RioCity266,000 MXN249,600 MXN142,300-404,600 MXN
ChetumalCity263,100 MXN257,700 MXN136,100-404,600 MXN
San Luis Rio ColoradoCity261,300 MXN245,300 MXN139,100-394,500 MXN
CordobaCity259,100 MXN265,000 MXN125,700-406,300 MXN
IgualaCity258,400 MXN246,500 MXN134,600-394,800 MXN
ManzanilloCity257,700 MXN239,000 MXN138,200-388,100 MXN
CuautlaCity254,700 MXN233,600 MXN139,100-384,500 MXN
ColimaCity254,700 MXN254,700 MXN125,700-394,800 MXN
Playa del CarmenCity253,400 MXN258,400 MXN125,100-394,800 MXN
ZacatecasCity251,500 MXN261,300 MXN119,700-392,300 MXN
Ciudad VallesCity247,800 MXN252,300 MXN119,900-386,400 MXN
San Pedro Garza GarciaCity247,800 MXN268,900 MXN115,080-394,500 MXN
Hidalgo del ParralCity246,500 MXN240,500 MXN127,700-383,300 MXN
FresnilloCity246,500 MXN263,200 MXN115,260-388,100 MXN
GuaymasCity246,200 MXN232,900 MXN128,900-372,600 MXN
DeliciasCity245,300 MXN254,700 MXN119,320-384,500 MXN
NavojoaCity239,000 MXN258,400 MXN111,240-378,300 MXN
OrizabaCity233,600 MXN228,000 MXN117,600-362,200 MXN
MinatitlanCity232,900 MXN232,900 MXN116,960-359,900 MXN

Research Engineer in Mexico: FAQs

  • How much does a research engineer make per month in Mexico?

    A research engineer in Mexico earns about 26,708 MXN a month before tax, based on an annual average of 320,500 MXN.

  • What's the salary range for a research engineer in Mexico?

    Entry-level research engineers in Mexico start near 152,100 MXN. Top-end pay reaches around 507,300 MXN. The middle 50% of earners sit between 218,900 and 451,000 MXN.

  • Is the median research engineer salary in Mexico higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 340,400 MXN, higher than the average of 320,500 MXN. Half of research engineers in Mexico earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for research engineers in Mexico?

    Men working as a research engineer in Mexico earn around 12% more than women on average (341,400 vs 305,600 MXN a year).

  • Do research engineers in Mexico get bonuses?

    About 57% of research engineers in Mexico reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 2% to 7% of base salary.

  • Do research engineers earn more in the public or private sector in Mexico?

    In Mexico, the public sector pays a research engineer about 8% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do research engineers in Mexico get a pay raise?

    A research engineer in Mexico sees a raise of around 12% every 16 months, equivalent to roughly 9% a year.