Ship Engineers Salary
The median pay for a ship engineers in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA is $88,800/year ($42.69/hour), per BLS data. The range runs from $45K at the entry level to $168K for experienced workers. Prices run high here (RPP 105.42), so that salary is closer to $84,234 in real purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,922/month, about 34.5% of take-home, which is tight.
Where the paycheck goes
What $89K actually covers in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, month by month
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro’s Regional Price Parity (105.42). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About ship engineers
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What this looks like in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro
Pay for ship engineers in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro runs about 19% below the U.S. median of $110K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,922/month, which is 36.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost-of-living overall is 5% above the national average (BEA RPP 105.42), so groceries and services cost more too. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for ship engineers.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for ship engineers in metros near Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | $85K | $75K |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | $109K | $98K |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | $109K | $94K |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | $85K | $76K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Entry-level ship engineers (10th percentile) start around $45K. Mid-career wages sit at $89K. Top earners bring in $168K or more, a $123K spread from bottom to top.
Ship Engineers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Ship Engineers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $134K | +22% | 550 |
| Hawaii | $132K | +20% | 70 |
| Florida | $130K | +19% | 1,260 |
| Texas | $128K | +17% | 660 |
| Massachusetts | $123K | +12% | 150 |
| Indiana | $122K | +12% | 210 |
| Kentucky | $121K | +10% | N/A |
| Rhode Island | $119K | +9% | 50 |
| Connecticut | $119K | +9% | 50 |
| New Jersey | $118K | +8% | 170 |
| Illinois | $115K | +5% | 110 |
| Washington | $108K | -1% | 730 |
| Louisiana | $103K | -6% | 610 |
| Mississippi | $98K | -10% | 140 |
| South Carolina | $98K | -11% | 80 |
| California | $98K | -11% | 610 |
| Alabama | $96K | -12% | 50 |
| Oregon | $89K | -19% | 80 |
| Alaska | $88K | -19% | 420 |
| Virginia | $82K | -25% | 1,450 |
| Pennsylvania | $80K | -27% | 90 |
| Michigan | $79K | -28% | 100 |
| Maine | $77K | -30% | 30 |
| North Carolina | $65K | -41% | 90 |
Showing 1–10 of 24 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track ship engineers salary changes
BLS updates this data annually. We'll email you when Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro numbers change.
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Quick answers
The stuff people actually ask about this job
Can a ship engineer afford a 2BR apartment alone in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro?
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.
What’s the entry-level salary for ship engineers in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new ship engineers typically earn — is $45K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,925/month. At HUD’s $1,922/month FMR, rent would take 66% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is ship engineer a high-paying job in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro?
Local pay runs 19% below the national median — $89K here vs. $110K nationally.
How does Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro compare to the national average for ship engineers?
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro pays $89K median vs. the U.S. average of $110K — that’s -19%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 105.42), the purchasing-power equivalent is $84K — below the national median.
How much do ship engineers make in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA?
The median is $88,800 a year, that works out to about $43 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $45,450, and experienced ship engineers can clear $168,360. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $89K enough to live in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro?
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.
How far does a ship engineers salary go in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro?
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 ship engineers salary is worth about $84,234 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do ship engineers get paid the most?
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.