Chemical Engineers Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $133K, rent takes 21.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,701/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new chemical engineers typically earn — is $89K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $5,367/month.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $133K locally vs. $125K nationally, a 6% difference.

Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area pays $133K median vs. the U.S. average of $125K — that’s +6%.

The median is $132,970 a year, that works out to about $64 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $89,450, and experienced chemical engineers can clear $173,720. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $7,930/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,701/month, which eats 21.5% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median chemical engineers salary is worth about $132,970 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.