Environmental Engineer.
Raleigh.
$105,000
median salary, 1% above the national average
$82,000 to $132,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
An Environmental Engineer in Raleigh earns a median of $105,000 in 2026. That is 1% above the national average. The range runs from $82,000 to $132,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. PE licensure, specialization in water treatment or air quality, and experience with EPA regulatory compliance drive the biggest salary differences. 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 Raleigh, 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 $102,980 for Environmental Engineers (SOC 17-2081) in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area, based on 110 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$68,600
25th percentile
$74,750
Median
$102,980
75th percentile
$128,980
90th percentile
$153,210
Workers surveyed
110
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 Raleigh 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 $95,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$68,000
to $84,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$89,000
to $110,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$116,000
to $137,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$131,000
to $163,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $28,000 to the total package.
Base
$105,000
Equity
$16,000
Bonus
$10,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $133,000
How Raleigh compares.
Raleigh, NC
$105,000
Cost of living: 1% below average
National Average
$104,000
Raleigh is $1,000 above
Environmental Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Raleigh.
What you should know.
Here is what the Environmental Engineer market actually looks like in Raleigh. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. The combination of top tier universities and moderate living costs creates an exceptionally favorable salary to expense ratio. 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 Raleigh, 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: north Carolina's flat 4.5% income tax keeps the burden low. Raleigh has no city income tax, and the Triangle's affordable housing amplifies your take home purchasing power. When someone quotes you $105,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Cite Research Triangle talent competition in your negotiation. Employers here compete directly with each other and with remote offers, creating favorable leverage for candidates. The range for Environmental Engineers in Raleigh runs from $82,000 to $132,000. 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 Supply Chain Manager in Raleigh earns $104,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Raleigh is CTO at $291,000
Common questions.
Environmental Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Raleigh.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Environmental Engineers in Raleigh.
Related tools.
Do you work as an environmental engineer in Raleigh?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Environmental Engineer Salary in Raleigh, NC." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/environmental-engineer/raleigh
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools