Environmental Engineer.
Philadelphia.
$113,000
median salary, 9% above the national average
$88,000 to $143,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median Environmental Engineer salary in Philadelphia is $113,000, 9% above the national average. Entry level starts near $88,000. Experienced professionals push past $143,000. Philadelphia combines a robust healthcare and life sciences sector with established finance and higher education institutions. That spread is your negotiation window. 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 Environmental Engineer in Philadelphia, 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 $129,390 for Environmental Engineers (SOC 17-2081) in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, based on 1,040 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$67,380
25th percentile
$80,490
Median
$129,390
75th percentile
$147,080
90th percentile
$149,990
Workers surveyed
1,040
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Environmental Engineers (SOC 17-2081) rather than Environmental Engineer specifically. The Philadelphia 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 17-2081Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $102,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$73,000
to $90,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$96,000
to $119,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$124,000
to $147,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$141,000
to $175,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $30,000 to the total package.
Base
$113,000
Equity
$17,000
Bonus
$11,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $143,000
How Philadelphia compares.
Philadelphia, PA
$113,000
Cost of living: 9% above average
National Average
$104,000
Philadelphia is $9,000 above
Environmental Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Philadelphia.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate an Environmental Engineer offer in Philadelphia, understand the terrain. Philadelphia combines a robust healthcare and life sciences sector with established finance and higher education institutions. The city's pharmaceutical corridor is among the strongest in the country. Tech growth has accelerated, particularly in health tech and enterprise software, offering salaries that stretch further than in nearby New York. PE licensure, specialization in water treatment or air quality, and experience with EPA regulatory compliance drive the biggest salary differences. Engineers working on remediation of contaminated sites or in the oil and gas sector earn premiums for hazardous conditions expertise.
Junior Environmental Engineers earn $70,000 to $80,000. Mid-career engineers with PE licensure reach $88,000 to $105,000. Senior Engineers and Project Managers command $105,000 to $130,000, while Principal Engineers and Directors at consulting firms exceed $145,000. In Philadelphia, 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. PE-licensed engineers receive immediate salary bumps of 10 to 15%. Annual bonuses of 5 to 12% are typical at consulting firms. Government roles offer pension benefits and strong job security, though base salaries trend 10 to 15% lower than private sector. And on the tax side: pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% state income tax, but Philadelphia adds a 3.75% city wage tax for residents. This combined local burden is worth factoring into salary negotiations. When someone quotes you $113,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Account for the Philadelphia wage tax in your ask. Request a 5 to 8% premium over suburban offers to offset the city's local tax on all earned income. The range for Environmental Engineers in Philadelphia runs from $88,000 to $143,000. 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
Considering a related role?
- A Civil Engineer in Philadelphia earns $112,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Philadelphia is CTO at $314,000
Common questions.
Environmental Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Philadelphia.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Environmental Engineers in Philadelphia.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Environmental Engineer Salary in Philadelphia, PA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/environmental-engineer/philadelphia
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