Management occupations · SOC 11-9041 · North Carolina

Architectural and engineering managers in North Carolina

Architectural and engineering managers in North Carolina earned a median of $167,840 a year in May 2025, about the same as the $171,270 national median for the occupation. North Carolina employs 6,960 of them, 1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the state. Most people entering the occupation nationally do so with a bachelor's degree.

Data snapshot: August 21, 2026

Median annual pay in North Carolina

$167,840

About the same as the $171,270 national median for this occupation

Median hourly pay in North Carolina

$80.69

Published separately by BLS, not calculated from the annual figure.

Middle half earn between

$137,210 – $201,230

The 25th to 75th percentile of everyone in the occupation in this state

Employed in North Carolina

6,960

1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the state

Concentration vs national

0.99×

about as concentrated here as nationally

Pay rank

#20 of 51

Among the states and DC that released an estimate for this occupation

Typical entry education (U.S.)

Bachelor's degree

What architectural and engineering managers actually earn in North Carolina

The full published wage distribution, not one averaged figure. Pay inside a single occupation varies more by experience, employer and setting than most salary pages admit.

10th percentile
$121,900
25th percentile
$137,210
Median
$167,840
75th percentile
$201,230
90th percentile
$231,350

How North Carolina compares

  • Against the rest of the country. $167,840 in North Carolina against $171,270 nationally for the same occupation, which puts North Carolina 20th of the 51 jurisdictions that released an estimate. Neither figure is adjusted for cost of living, so a higher median does not by itself mean more money left over.
  • Against other work in North Carolina. $167,840 against $47,970, the median across every occupation in the state — 250% above it.
  • How much of this work is here. The occupation is about as concentrated here as nationally (0.99× the national share of employment), 22nd of 49 for concentration. Concentration describes where the work is, not how easy it is to be hired.

Where architectural and engineering managers are paid most

The highest published medians for this occupation. Before reading it as a place to move, note that these are not cost-of-living adjusted and that the states paying most are often the ones where everything costs most.

How people get into this work

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports as typical for entry nationally. Typical is a measurement of the people already doing the work, not a rule: some enter with less and some with more.

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

Work experience needed

5 years or more

On-the-job training

None

North Carolina licensing is not in these figures.

Many occupations, including most of health care, teaching, law, accountancy and the skilled trades, require a state licence, certification or registration before you can work. North Carolina sets its own, and none of it is part of the federal dataset above, so CampusPin cannot tell you whether this occupation is licensed here. Check the North Carolina licensing board before committing to a route, because where an occupation is licensed that requirement, not the typical credential, is the real gate.

What people study to get here, and where in North Carolina

Fields the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk associates with this occupation, ordered by how many credentials U.S. colleges conferred in each — a measure of how many people take a route, never of how good it is. Studying any of these does not lead only here, and this occupation is entered from other fields too.

Mechanical Engineering42,550 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

5 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Electrical Engineering25,333 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

6 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Civil Engineering19,880 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

4 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Biomedical Engineering13,836 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

6 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24see which ones, and what they cost.

Computer Engineering13,425 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

7 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Engineering13,028 credentials conferred nationally, mostly associate degrees

39 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24see which ones, and what they cost.

Chemical Engineering10,811 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Aerospace Engineering9,596 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

1 college in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Industrial Engineering8,360 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

3 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Software Engineering5,932 credentials conferred nationally, mostly graduate degrees

1 college in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Architecture4,500 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Systems Engineering3,956 credentials conferred nationally, mostly graduate degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Materials Engineering3,129 credentials conferred nationally, mostly graduate degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Environmental Engineering2,837 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Urban Planning2,339 credentials conferred nationally, mostly graduate degrees

4 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Robotics Engineering1,985 credentials conferred nationally, mostly graduate degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Construction Engineering1,567 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Agricultural Engineering1,090 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

2 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Landscape Architecture1,047 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

1 college in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Nuclear Engineering959 credentials conferred nationally, mostly graduate degrees

1 college in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Petroleum Engineering755 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees
Materials Science621 credentials conferred nationally, mostly graduate degrees

3 colleges in North Carolina reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24.

Marine Engineering445 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees
Mining Engineering285 credentials conferred nationally, mostly bachelor's degrees

This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.

Colleges in North Carolina

Pay is one half of the decision. What it costs to get qualified is the other, and it is the half that varies most between two colleges in the same state.

Source & methodology

State wage and employment figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 release. National median pay, projections and typical entry education are from the BLS Employment Projections programme (2024 wages). Both are public domain; credit BLS.

Wages are May 2025 estimates from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which asks employers what they pay everyone currently working in the occupation — experienced and new alike. They are not starting salaries, not the earnings of recent graduates, and not adjusted for cost of living, which matters when comparing one state against another. Self-employed workers are not surveyed.

Suggested citation

CampusPin. (2026). Architectural and engineering managers in North Carolina, pay and employment. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/careers/architectural-and-engineering-managers/in/north-carolina

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