SOC 17-2131 · Architecture and Engineering Occupations · May 2025

How much do Materials Engineers make in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Materials Engineers in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is $156,130. The 10th percentile is $96,060 and the 90th percentile is $213,380. Employment is 820.

Median annual wage

$156,130

10th percentile
$96,060
25th percentile
$128,710
Median
$156,130
75th percentile
$178,710
90th percentile
$213,380
Mean
$153,780

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

A welder working in a workshop
A welder at a workshop bench. Photograph by ABDULIUMAR. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Percentile spread

For Materials Engineers, the published 10th percentile is $96,060 and the 90th percentile is $213,380. The difference is $117,320, which is 75.1% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $128,710 to the 75th at $178,710, covers $50,000.

The mean annual wage is $153,780, which sits below the median of $156,130. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA median is 38.3% higher than the national median of $112,860 for Materials Engineers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $140,489, which is 24.5% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 11.6% higher than the Washington median of $139,840.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 111.133, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $156,130 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Materials Engineers at $140,489 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

One other metropolitan area within 200 miles publishes a annual median for Materials Engineers. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ranks 1st of 2 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

  • Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA is 134 miles away, with a median of $128,250 and employment of 70. That median is 17.9% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $121,655, against $140,489 here.

Employment share

Materials Engineers accounts for 0.04% of wage-and-salary employment in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (820 of 2,086,210). Nationally the occupation is 0.01% of employment (22,770 of 155,495,730). The local share is 2.68 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Materials Engineers by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Materials Engineers make in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Materials Engineers in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is $156,130. The 10th percentile is $96,060 and the 90th percentile is $213,380. Employment is 820.

How does that compare with the national median for Materials Engineers?

The local median is 38.3% higher than the national median of $112,860.

What is Materials Engineers pay in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 111.133, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $156,130 is $140,489. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA compare with nearby metros for Materials Engineers?

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 134 miles away, at $128,250. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ranks 1st of 2 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.