Materials Engineers Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $94K, rent takes 34.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,044/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,800/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new materials engineers typically earn — is $75K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $4,492/month.

Local pay runs 17% below the national median — $94K here vs. $113K nationally.

Northwestern South Carolina nonmetropolitan area pays $94K median vs. the U.S. average of $113K — that’s -17%.

The median is $94,130 a year, that works out to about $45 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $74,870, and experienced materials engineers can clear $137,160. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,851/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,044/month, which eats 34.9% 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.

Northwestern South Carolina 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 materials engineers salary is worth about $94,130 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.