California · 2025 pay · 72 people
How much does a chief engineer make in California?
$110,751typical pay for a chief engineer in 2025
$98,651 – $139,311what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year workers. Typical pay rose 4.0% from 2024.
✓ Official data from 4 agencies · Matches each agency's latest release · Show sourcesHide sources
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
Where chief engineers work
Typical pay at each employer, 2025 (everyone paid).
- Department of General Services36 people$102,808
- Department of State Hospitals5 people$108,192
- State Compensation Insurance Fund3 people$122,860
- San Mateo County Community College District3 people$171,045
- Department of Public Health2 people$125,508
- Tulare County2 people$159,258
- California Science Center2 people$100,396
- Department of Developmental Services2 people$86,216
- Department of Veterans Affairs2 people$124,530
- Santa Margarita Water District1 person$290,059
- Indian Wells Valley Water District1 person$193,197
- Department of Motor Vehicles1 person$99,088
- Lottery Commission1 person$54,599
- Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District1 person$252,197
- Department of Transportation1 person$121,002
- Pasadena Center Operating Company1 person$110,221
- Kings County1 person$170,784
- Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency1 person$308,685
- Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency1 person$265,341
- Last Frontier Health District1 person$103,782
- Southern Mono Health Care District1 person$145,050
- Fresno Irrigation District1 person$244,122
- Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare District1 person$231,598
- Military Department (California National Guard)1 person$87,323
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Chief Engineer II56 people$104,766
- Chief Engineer16 people$182,121
Related jobs and the next step up
Same line of work at a different rank, by typical pay (full-year employees where we can tell).
- Engineer Intern$11,387 (everyone)
- Engineer Assistant$104,905 (everyone)
- Chief Engineer (this page)$110,751 (everyone)
- Assistant Engineer$112,280 (everyone)
- Associate Engineer$145,254 (everyone)
- Engineer Associate$148,358 (everyone)
- Senior Associate Engineer$161,833 (everyone)
- Engineer Principal$162,241 (everyone)
- Supervising Engineer$166,258 (everyone)
- Senior Engineer$171,470 (everyone)
- Engineer Senior$175,722 (everyone)
- Assistant Chief Engineer$192,111 (everyone)
- Principal Engineer$197,143 (everyone)
Highest-paid chief engineers, 2025
Common questions
How much does a chief engineer make in California?
The typical chief engineer was paid $110,751 in 2025; most earned between $98,651 and $139,311. This counts all 72 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 6.2% of all pay for chief engineers in 2025.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Chief Engineer, at any level (for example "Chief Engineer II"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this