What Industrial Engineers earn in St. Clair County, MI
The median pay for Industrial Engineers in St. Clair County, MI is $104,110 per year, which works out to $50.05 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, the labor market that St. Clair County, MI belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $110,360, which is 6.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 17,350 people working in this occupation across the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. St. Clair County, MI has roughly 160,221 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Industrial Engineers in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $78,860 a year ($37.91 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $150,430 or more ($72.32 an hour). That is a gap of $71,570 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $86,020 at the 25th percentile and $131,200 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.9 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $50.05 an hour or $104,110 a year at the median for St. Clair County, MI. Before any deductions, that is $8,676 a month, $4,004 every two weeks and $2,002 each week. After taxes the same job pays $37.31 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Industrial Engineers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Industrial Engineers this way: "Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Analyze statistical data and product specifications to determine standards and establish quality and reliability objectives of finished product"; "Develop manufacturing methods, labor utilization standards, and cost analysis systems to promote efficient staff and facility utilization"; "Recommend methods for improving utilization of personnel, material, and utilities"; "Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization".
Job outlook for Industrial Engineers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 365,100 jobs in 2025 to 410,600 in 2035, a change of +12.4%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 23,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 6.3% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $102,440 for this occupation; the St. Clair County, MI median of $104,110 is 1.6% above it.
How pay in St. Clair County, MI compares
Compared with the Michigan average
A worker in this occupation in St. Clair County, MI earns $3,201 more than the Michigan average of $100,909, a premium of 3.2%. Over a year that premium is worth $3,201 before tax and roughly $2,386 after tax. Within Michigan, St. Clair County, MI already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Industrial Engineers earn an employment-weighted average of $104,595 across the contiguous United States, so $104,110 in St. Clair County, MI is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in St. Clair County, MI
Among the 590 occupations with published wages in St. Clair County, MI, Industrial Engineers ranks number 79 by median pay, ahead of about 87% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $170,040 a year, which is $65,930 more than the median for Industrial Engineers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Industrial Engineers earning the St. Clair County, MI median of $104,110, they add up to $26,496. The result is $77,614 of take-home pay a year ($6,468 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $25 goes to taxes and $75 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 25.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $88,360. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $14,353, an effective 13.8% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $6,455 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,510. FICA totals $7,964, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Michigan
Michigan income tax on this salary is $4,178 a year, or 4.0% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 29% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $348 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for St. Clair County, MI
IRS Statistics of Income data for St. Clair County, MI show an average adjusted gross income of $69,604 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.0% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 10.6%, compared with the 13.8% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in St. Clair County, MI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in St. Clair County, MI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $77,614 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For St. Clair County, MI, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,167 a month ($14,004 a year), and at $1,459 for two bedrooms. For Industrial Engineers, a one-bedroom absorbs 18.0% of take-home pay and 13.4% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 3.3% of gross pay for Industrial Engineers in St. Clair County, MI. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Michigan residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,039 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $416, for $2,455 in total. Gasoline in Michigan averages $3.10 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,436.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $21,331 a year in St. Clair County, MI. Subtract that from $77,614 of take-home pay and $56,283 remains, which is $4,690 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 54.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for St. Clair County, MI
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in St. Clair County, MI: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for St. Clair County, MI, set beside the Michigan and national medians.
Property taxes in St. Clair County, MI
Homeowners in St. Clair County, MI pay a median of $2,562 a year in real estate taxes, 12% below the Michigan median of $2,904 and 18% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $224,600, the median tax bill is 1.14% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Industrial Engineers median of $104,110, a tax bill of that size would equal 2.5% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in St. Clair County, MI
Renters in St. Clair County, MI pay a median gross rent of $1,029 a month in the Census survey, 9% below the Michigan median of $1,129. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,167 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $224,600, 3% below the Michigan median of $231,600. Median household income is $71,270, 2% below the Michigan median of $72,875, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 19.6% of that income.
Commuting in St. Clair County, MI
Workers in St. Clair County, MI who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.5 minutes each way, 18% above the Michigan average of 24.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 7.7% of workers in St. Clair County, MI work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Industrial Engineers afford to live in St. Clair County, MI?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $104,110 that ceiling is $2,603 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,167 is $1,436 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.44 an hour; the median for Industrial Engineers is $50.05, which is 123% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $37.31 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 7.2 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,459 a month means $730 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,250 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $61,533.
How fast you can save
At $4,690 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Industrial Engineers pay in St. Clair County, MI
How much do Industrial Engineers make per hour in St. Clair County, MI?
The median is $50.05 per hour, based on $104,110 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $37.91 at the 10th percentile to $72.32 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Industrial Engineers take home after taxes in St. Clair County, MI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $104,110 becomes $77,614 a year. That is $6,468 a month, $2,985 every two weeks or $1,493 a week.
How much tax do Industrial Engineers pay in St. Clair County, MI?
Total taxes are $26,496 a year, an effective rate of 25.4%: $14,353 federal income tax, $7,964 FICA and $4,178 Michigan income tax.
Do Industrial Engineers earn more in St. Clair County, MI than elsewhere in Michigan?
Yes. The local median of $104,110 is +3.2% versus the Michigan average of $100,909, a difference of $3,201 a year.
Can Industrial Engineers afford a one-bedroom apartment in St. Clair County, MI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,167 a month against take-home pay of $6,468, which is 18.0% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,603 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Industrial Engineers in St. Clair County, MI?
About $4,690 a month ($56,283 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $21,331 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in St. Clair County, MI at the 30% guideline?
$22.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,004 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Industrial Engineers is $50.05.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Michigan rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.