Chemical engineers

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Total Workforce

75.7k

Average Age

41.2

Average Salary

$113,062

Average Male Salary

$114,749

Average Female Salary

$106,018

About

Chemical engineers are most often employed by the Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals industry. The average yearly wage for Chemical engineers was $113,062 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Chemical engineers by wage are Computer hardware engineers, Other financial specialists, and Computer and information research scientists.

Chemical engineers are part of the Architecture & engineering occupations, along with Architects, except landscape and naval, Landscape architects, Surveyors, cartographers, & photogrammetrists, Aerospace engineers, Chemical engineers, and 16 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Chemical engineers are South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX, Bay & Midland Counties PUMA, MI, and Hancock & Putnam Counties PUMA, OH. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Chemical engineers are South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX, Hancock & Putnam Counties PUMA, OH, and Wood, Pleasants & Wirt Counties PUMA, WV.

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Computer, engineering, & science occupations Architecture & engineering occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Chemical engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals is the industry that employs the most Chemical engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Chemical engineers, by average wage, is National security & international affairs. Chemical engineers are paid most in Bay & Midland Counties PUMA, MI but are relatively concentrated in South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$113,062

AVERAGE SALARY

± $6,334

In 2019, Chemical engineers earned an average of $113,062, $57,538 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Computer hardware engineers make somewhat more than Chemical engineers while Other financial specialists make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Chemical engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.294

WAGE GINI

In 2019, Chemical engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.294, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Chemical engineers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Chemical engineers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Chemical engineers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Chemical engineers.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Chemical engineers, by number of employees, are Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, and Petroleum refining.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Chemical engineers, by average wage, are Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, Petroleum refining, National security & international affairs, Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, Scientific research & development services, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

Industries by Share

75.7k

2019 Workforce

± 6,754

18.8%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 11.1%

The number of people employed as Chemical engineers has been growing at a rate of 18.8%, from 63,749 people in 2018 to 75,711 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Chemical engineers employed by various industries. Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals employs the largest share of Chemical engineers at 35.8%, followed by Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing with 17.6% and Petroleum refining with 14.6%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Chemical engineers in the US. The average age of male Chemical engineers in the workforce is 42.4 and of female Chemical engineers is 36, and the most common race/ethnicity for Chemical engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

61.1k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 6,066

14.6k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,970

80.7% of Chemical engineers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Chemical engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Chemical engineers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

70.7% of Chemical engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13.7% of Chemical engineers, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Chemical engineers.

Age by Gender

42.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.35

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.15

The median age of Chemical engineers is 41.2, and Male employees are generally 6.41 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Chemical engineers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Chemical engineers is Engineering but a relatively high number of Chemical engineers hold a major in Engineering.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Chemical engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chemical engineers need many skills, but most especially Science, Critical Thinking, and Complex Problem Solving. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Chemical engineers need more than the average amount of Science, Technology Design, and Operations Analysis.