High paying engineering and architecture jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

Every engineering and architecture occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single engineering and architecture job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC run 2.1% below the national average (2024), so a Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC salary is worth about 1.02× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find engineering jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

OccupationMedian, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC · Employed

1Aerospace Engineers$139,010
Bachelor's degree
$92,930 – $193,250800
2Engineers, All Other$138,590
Bachelor's degree
$83,660 – $188,2801,250
3Computer Hardware Engineers$131,710
Bachelor's degree
$81,700 – $193,040280
4Nuclear Engineers$110,510
Bachelor's degree
$77,520 – $160,6201,260
5Electrical Engineers$103,210
Bachelor's degree
$79,820 – $152,5801,410
6Environmental Engineers$102,110
Bachelor's degree
$66,820 – $139,030270
7Electronics Engineers, Except Computer$102,060
Bachelor's degree
$80,700 – $162,690810
8Industrial Engineers$101,500
Bachelor's degree
$72,490 – $138,2401,060
9Architects, Except Landscape and Naval$101,410
Bachelor's degree
$65,910 – $145,360420
10Mechanical Engineers$100,280
Bachelor's degree
$77,520 – $135,5502,210
11Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians$96,870
Associate's degree
$59,290 – $131,2101,430
12Civil Engineers$94,680
Bachelor's degree
$65,770 – $136,5101,990
13Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians$62,820
Associate's degree
$44,340 – $80,220380
14Architectural and Civil Drafters$62,030
Associate's degree
$44,290 – $93,750410
15Surveying and Mapping Technicians$57,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,180 – $80,110500

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianVirginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Aerospace EngineersBachelor's degree	$139,010	$92,930 – $193,250	800
2	Engineers, All OtherBachelor's degree	$138,590	$83,660 – $188,280	1,250
3	Computer Hardware EngineersBachelor's degree	$131,710	$81,700 – $193,040	280
4	Nuclear EngineersBachelor's degree	$110,510	$77,520 – $160,620	1,260
5	Electrical EngineersBachelor's degree	$103,210	$79,820 – $152,580	1,410
6	Environmental EngineersBachelor's degree	$102,110	$66,820 – $139,030	270
7	Electronics Engineers, Except ComputerBachelor's degree	$102,060	$80,700 – $162,690	810
8	Industrial EngineersBachelor's degree	$101,500	$72,490 – $138,240	1,060
9	Architects, Except Landscape and NavalBachelor's degree	$101,410	$65,910 – $145,360	420
10	Mechanical EngineersBachelor's degree	$100,280	$77,520 – $135,550	2,210
11	Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and TechniciansAssociate's degree	$96,870	$59,290 – $131,210	1,430
12	Civil EngineersBachelor's degree	$94,680	$65,770 – $136,510	1,990
13	Civil Engineering Technologists and TechniciansAssociate's degree	$62,820	$44,340 – $80,220	380
14	Architectural and Civil DraftersAssociate's degree	$62,030	$44,290 – $93,750	410
15	Surveying and Mapping TechniciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,760	$38,180 – $80,110	500

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC to rank honestly.

High paying engineering and architecture jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

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