How much does a Mechanical Engineer make in Missouri?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $91,890 for Mechanical Engineers in Missouri as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $77,040 and the 75th-percentile is $108,270.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Mechanical Engineer salary in Missouri?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 91.1 for Missouri), the real-wage equivalent is $100,863 — what the $91,890 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $84,563 to $118,842.

How many Mechanical Engineers does Missouri employ?

BLS OES counts 3,950 Mechanical Engineers employed in Missouri in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Missouri rank for Mechanical Engineer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Missouri ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Missouri?

P10 to P90 spans $63,210 to $131,750. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these Mechanical Engineer salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in Missouri?

MS-ME in Missouri adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

Missouri Mechanical Engineer Salary: BLS $92K Median, Real $101K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Mechanical Engineer pay in Missouri is $91,890. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $100,863.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $8,973.
Bottom quartile $77,040, top quartile $108,270. The P90 ($131,750) is roughly 2.1× the P10 ($63,210).
Mechanical Engineer ranking: #44 on the BLS table, #37 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Missouri

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$63,210	$69,382
P25 (lower quartile)	$77,040	$84,563
P50 (median)	$91,890	$100,863
P75 (upper quartile)	$108,270	$118,842
P90 (top tier)	$131,750	$144,615
Mean	$95,250	$104,551
Employment	3,950 Mechanical Engineers in Missouri

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Missouri index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	91.1
Goods	97.3
Services	85.6
Rents	70.5

Missouri sits below the national baseline (RPP 91.1), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 70.5.

After-tax take-home — Missouri (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Mechanical Engineer)	$91,890	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$11,463	12.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,633	0–4.95% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,030	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$69,765	75.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$76,577	÷ (91.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Missouri state-tax burden means for Mechanical Engineer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $69,765 (75.9% of gross). After the 91.1 RPP, real take-home is $76,577.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $102,320 for Mechanical Engineers with mean pay of $110,080 and total employment of 286,760. Missouri sits at #44 on nominal pay and #37 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Missouri climbs 7 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Mechanical Engineer make in Missouri?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $91,890 for Mechanical Engineers in Missouri as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $77,040 and the 75th-percentile is $108,270.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Mechanical Engineer salary in Missouri?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 91.1 for Missouri), the real-wage equivalent is $100,863 — what the $91,890 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $84,563 to $118,842.
How many Mechanical Engineers does Missouri employ?: BLS OES counts 3,950 Mechanical Engineers employed in Missouri in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Missouri rank for Mechanical Engineer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Missouri ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Missouri?: P10 to P90 spans $63,210 to $131,750. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these Mechanical Engineer salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in Missouri?: MS-ME in Missouri adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 17-2141, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Missouri Mechanical Engineer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.