Design Engineer.
St. Louis.
$90,000
median salary, 12% below the national average
$72,000 to $115,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Orbyt estimates Design Engineer pay in St. Louis at $90,000, within a range of $72,000 to $115,000. That is 12% below the national average. St. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Design Engineer in St. Louis, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $100,340 for Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141) in the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, based on 2,190 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$65,900
25th percentile
$79,740
Median
$100,340
75th percentile
$120,020
90th percentile
$149,060
Workers surveyed
2,190
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141) rather than Design Engineer specifically. The St. Louis range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 17-2141Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $81,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$59,000
to $72,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$77,000
to $95,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$99,000
to $117,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$113,000
to $140,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $25,000 to the total package.
Base
$90,000
Equity
$14,000
Bonus
$9,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $115,000
How St. Louis compares.
St. Louis, MO
$90,000
Cost of living: 10% below average
National Average
$102,000
St. Louis is $12,000 below
Design Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in St. Louis.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate a Design Engineer offer in St. Louis, understand the terrain. St. Louis offers one of the most affordable major metro areas in the country, with a strong base in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. The region's anchor employers include Boeing, Centene, and Washington University's medical campus. A growing biotech and plant sciences corridor centered on the Cortex Innovation District is attracting new investment and talent. Engineers who bridge design systems and frontend implementation at scale command the highest salaries. Proficiency in Figma-to-code workflows, component library architecture, and motion design with CSS or Framer Motion adds 15 to 20% over pure frontend roles. Companies with strong design cultures like Vercel, Linear, or Stripe pay top rates.
Junior frontend developers or UI designers start at $72,000 to $95,000, converging into design engineer roles at $108,000 to $185,000 within three to five years. Senior design engineers earn $180,000 to $230,000, while head of design engineering or design systems lead roles reach $240,000 to $310,000. In St. Louis, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. RSUs at design-forward tech companies add $25,000 to $70,000 annually. Signing bonuses of $15,000 to $35,000 are typical, and many employers offer stipends for design tools, typography licenses, and creative software subscriptions. And on the tax side: missouri's top income tax rate is about 4.8%, and St. Louis City adds a 1% earnings tax. The low base cost of living means your after tax salary still stretches further than in most metros. When someone quotes you $90,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize your willingness to work in person at Cortex or the BJC campus. St. Louis employers offer higher packages for candidates who commit to the local innovation hubs. The range for Design Engineers in St. Louis runs from $72,000 to $115,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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- An Occupational Therapist in St. Louis earns $91,000 (1% more)
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Common questions.
Design Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in St. Louis.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Design Engineer Salary in St. Louis, MO." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/design-engineer/st-louis
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