What Aerospace Engineers earn in King County, WA
The median pay for Aerospace Engineers in King County, WA is $163,580 per year, which works out to $78.64 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, the labor market that King County, WA 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 $156,970, which is 4.0% below the median, which suggests many workers sit near the top of the pay scale. The survey counts about 5,480 people working in this occupation across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. King County, WA has roughly 2,287,171 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Aerospace Engineers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $112,650 a year ($54.16 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $207,710 or more ($99.86 an hour). That is a gap of $95,060 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $131,910 at the 25th percentile and $181,520 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.8 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: $78.64 an hour or $163,580 a year at the median for King County, WA. Before any deductions, that is $13,632 a month, $6,292 every two weeks and $3,146 each week. After taxes the same job pays $59.01 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Aerospace Engineers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Aerospace Engineers this way: "Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products"; "Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment"; "Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements"; "Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers".
Job outlook for Aerospace Engineers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 68,700 jobs in 2025 to 74,400 in 2035, a change of +8.3%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 3,800 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 5.5% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $134,960 for this occupation; the King County, WA median of $163,580 is 21.2% above it.
How pay in King County, WA compares
Compared with the Washington average
Pay for Aerospace Engineers in King County, WA is in line with the statewide figure: $163,580 locally against an employment-weighted Washington average of $162,688, a difference of only $892 (0.6%). Within Washington, King County, WA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Aerospace Engineers is $141,708 across the contiguous United States. At $163,580, King County, WA pays $21,872 more, which is 15.4% above that benchmark. 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 King County, WA
Among the 612 occupations with published wages in King County, WA, Aerospace Engineers ranks number 40 by median pay, ahead of about 94% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $214,680 a year, which is $51,100 more than the median for Aerospace 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 Aerospace Engineers earning the King County, WA median of $163,580, they add up to $40,840. The result is $122,740 of take-home pay a year ($10,228 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 25.0%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $147,830. 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 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $28,326, an effective 17.3% of gross pay, well below the 24% 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 $10,142 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $2,372. FICA totals $12,514, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Washington
Washington does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Aerospace Engineers in King County, WA is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $8,179 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $682 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for King County, WA
IRS Statistics of Income data for King County, WA show an average adjusted gross income of $164,464 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.9% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.9%, compared with the 17.3% 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 King County, WA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in King County, WA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $122,740 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For King County, WA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,180 a month ($26,160 a year), and at $2,549 for two bedrooms. For Aerospace Engineers, a one-bedroom absorbs 21.3% of take-home pay and 16.0% 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 2.1% of gross pay for Aerospace Engineers in King County, WA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Washington residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,257 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $475, for $1,732 in total. Gasoline in Washington averages $4.07 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,883.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $33,210 a year in King County, WA. Subtract that from $122,740 of take-home pay and $89,530 remains, which is $7,461 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 54.7% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for King County, WA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in King County, WA: 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 King County, WA, set beside the Washington and national medians.
Property taxes in King County, WA
Homeowners in King County, WA pay a median of $7,114 a year in real estate taxes, 56% above the Washington median of $4,556 and 128% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $859,900, the median tax bill is 0.83% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Aerospace Engineers median of $163,580, a tax bill of that size would equal 4.3% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in King County, WA
Renters in King County, WA pay a median gross rent of $2,092 a month in the Census survey, 19% above the Washington median of $1,760. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,180 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 $859,900, 52% above the Washington median of $564,600. Median household income is $124,746, 27% above the Washington median of $98,141, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 21.0% of that income.
Commuting in King County, WA
Workers in King County, WA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 27.6 minutes each way, 4% above the Washington average of 26.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.6 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 29.2% of workers in King County, WA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Aerospace Engineers afford to live in King County, WA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $163,580 that ceiling is $4,089 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,180 is $1,909 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $41.92 an hour; the median for Aerospace Engineers is $78.64, which is 88% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $59.01 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 8.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,549 a month means $1,275 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $10,866 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $100,396.
How fast you can save
At $7,461 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Aerospace Engineers pay in King County, WA
How much do Aerospace Engineers make per hour in King County, WA?
The median is $78.64 per hour, based on $163,580 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $54.16 at the 10th percentile to $99.86 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Aerospace Engineers take home after taxes in King County, WA?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $163,580 becomes $122,740 a year. That is $10,228 a month, $4,721 every two weeks or $2,360 a week.
How much tax do Aerospace Engineers pay in King County, WA?
Total taxes are $40,840 a year, an effective rate of 25.0%: $28,326 federal income tax, $12,514 FICA and no Washington income tax.
Do Aerospace Engineers earn more in King County, WA than elsewhere in Washington?
It is about the same. The local median of $163,580 is within 0.6% of the Washington average of $162,688.
Can Aerospace Engineers afford a one-bedroom apartment in King County, WA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,180 a month against take-home pay of $10,228, which is 21.3% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $4,089 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Aerospace Engineers in King County, WA?
About $7,461 a month ($89,530 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,210 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in King County, WA at the 30% guideline?
$41.92 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,160 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Aerospace Engineers is $78.64.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 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 Washington 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.