Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $89K, rent takes 36.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,922/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,600/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new environmental engineering technologists and technicians typically earn — is $63K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,762/month. At HUD’s $1,922/month FMR, rent would take 51% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 48% above the national median — $89K here vs. $60K nationally. Keep in mind cost of living here is 5% above the national average, which offsets some of that premium.

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro pays $89K median vs. the U.S. average of $60K — that’s +48%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 105.42), the purchasing-power equivalent is $84K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $88,790 a year, that works out to about $43 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $62,700, and experienced environmental engineering technologists and technicians can clear $104,370. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,301/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,922/month, which eats 36.3% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro has a Regional Price Parity of 105.42 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median environmental engineering technologists and technicians salary is worth about $84,225 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.