Salary guide, May 2025
SCADA / HMI Engineer pay, United States
Manufacturing Headhunters uses the published BLS OEWS figures below. They describe the mapped occupation and area, not an individual offer.
This is what we do all day: recruit manufacturing professionals.
The median annual wage for Software Developers in the United States was $135,980 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $105,210 and $171,980.
Broader occupation · SOC 15-1252 Software Developers
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title.
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $82,460 | $105,210 | $135,980 | $171,980 | $214,670 |
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39.64 | $50.58 | $65.38 | $82.68 | $103.21 |
BLS estimated 1,687,890 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 15-1252 Software Developers, U.S.. Official occupation data · Official area tables. Released 2026-05-15.
How does pay compare in the target metros?
| Metro | Median | 25th to 75th | Employment | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $132,650 | $102,710 to $165,710 | 18,900 | 0.62 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $130,450 | $100,450 to $165,430 | 14,230 | 0.91 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $129,620 | $103,360 to $162,860 | 13,440 | 0.88 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $132,770 | $103,480 to $166,650 | 12,580 | 1.56 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $166,830 | $130,650 to $205,970 | 121,000 | 1.17 |
| Northern New Jersey within New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $166,830 | $130,650 to $205,970 | 121,000 | 1.17 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $133,290 | $105,660 to $164,100 | 67,030 | 1.52 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $134,380 | $104,530 to $167,650 | 40,370 | 0.82 |
Rank every metro for SCADA / HMI Engineer
What should you know about pay by manufacturing industry, United States?
Same BLS occupation, national estimates for each manufacturing industry (NAICS) BLS publishes, May 2025. Industry names are BLS labels.
- Motor Vehicle Manufacturing$172,360
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing$169,030
- Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing$168,400
- Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing$161,360
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing$154,470
- Other Food Manufacturing$151,710
- Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media$140,930
- Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing$136,490
- Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing$136,490
- Communications Equipment Manufacturing$136,430
- Manufacturing$136,330
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing$135,490
- Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing$135,210
- Household Appliance Manufacturing$134,980
- Transportation Equipment Manufacturing$134,930
Bars show up to 15 industries with exact annual medians. The table lists every published industry.
| NAICS | Industry | Employment | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31-33 | Manufacturing | 136,390 | $106,150 | $136,330 | $174,210 |
| 334000 | Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | 77,040 | $124,500 | $161,360 | $194,290 |
| 334500 | Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | 33,020 | $108,830 | $154,470 | $175,230 |
| 336000 | Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | 28,070 | $108,700 | $134,930 | $175,140 |
| 336400 | Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | 22,750 | $109,200 | $135,490 | $176,050 |
| 334400 | Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing | 19,770 | $131,590 | $169,030 | $215,580 |
| 334100 | Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing | 13,430 | $132,260 | $168,400 | $209,010 |
| 333000 | Machinery Manufacturing | 12,340 | $94,700 | $107,450 | $134,960 |
| 334200 | Communications Equipment Manufacturing | 8,870 | $106,370 | $136,430 | $169,440 |
| 3330A1 | Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only) | 6,950 | $92,490 | $105,960 | $135,150 |
| 339000 | Miscellaneous Manufacturing | 4,570 | $101,620 | $130,840 | $163,350 |
| 333300 | Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing | 3,650 | $96,360 | $106,690 | $134,530 |
| 335000 | Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing | 3,610 | $92,420 | $115,570 | $145,330 |
| 339100 | Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing | 3,100 | $104,000 | $134,540 | $165,510 |
| 332000 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 2,700 | $83,040 | $106,540 | $133,170 |
| 325000 | Chemical Manufacturing | 2,450 | $101,350 | $128,670 | $157,940 |
| 336300 | Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing | 2,400 | $94,810 | $127,030 | $143,760 |
| 3320A1 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only) | 1,710 | $86,200 | $110,850 | $135,650 |
| 335900 | Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing | 1,680 | $91,250 | $115,570 | $139,420 |
| 325400 | Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing | 1,630 | $103,750 | $132,750 | $160,750 |
| 323000 | Printing and Related Support Activities | 1,620 | $80,080 | $98,660 | $124,130 |
| 323100 | Printing and Related Support Activities | 1,620 | $80,080 | $98,660 | $124,130 |
| 336100 | Motor Vehicle Manufacturing | 1,600 | $142,180 | $172,360 | $196,560 |
| 335300 | Electrical Equipment Manufacturing | 1,480 | $92,740 | $112,820 | $143,130 |
| 339900 | Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing | 1,470 | $86,410 | $110,290 | $135,010 |
| 333600 | Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing | 1,140 | $106,250 | $128,440 | $139,430 |
| 326000 | Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing | 1,040 | $90,000 | $106,010 | $128,580 |
| 334300 | Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing | 1,010 | $105,010 | $135,210 | $171,010 |
| 334600 | Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media | 940 | $108,820 | $140,930 | $171,150 |
| 311000 | Food Manufacturing | 780 | $92,410 | $117,350 | $144,920 |
| 326100 | Plastics Product Manufacturing | 760 | $92,060 | $108,660 | $132,780 |
| 3320A2 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) | 650 | $80,660 | $103,500 | $131,090 |
| 333500 | Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing | 610 | $84,440 | $104,630 | $130,080 |
| 3250A1 | Chemical Manufacturing (3251, 3252, 3253, and 3259 only) | 590 | $99,780 | $118,910 | $139,740 |
| 331000 | Primary Metal Manufacturing | 480 | $84,760 | $104,730 | $132,340 |
| 337000 | Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | 420 | $80,630 | $97,640 | $120,270 |
| 3370A1 | Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (3371 and 3372 only) | 360 | $79,870 | $96,830 | $117,970 |
| 322000 | Paper Manufacturing | 320 | $99,500 | $124,550 | $158,940 |
| 332700 | Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing | 300 | $75,690 | $84,320 | $111,870 |
| 326200 | Rubber Product Manufacturing | 270 | $85,390 | $104,110 | $123,510 |
| 311900 | Other Food Manufacturing | 260 | $117,000 | $151,710 | $175,340 |
| 322200 | Converted Paper Product Manufacturing | 260 | $97,360 | $122,800 | $151,930 |
| 312000 | Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing | 230 | $86,540 | $120,230 | $133,700 |
| 3250A2 | Chemical Manufacturing (3255 and 3256 only) | 230 | $89,020 | $108,070 | $139,970 |
| 332710 | Machine Shops | 230 | $75,660 | $82,750 | $105,480 |
| 335100 | Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing | 230 | $95,510 | $127,100 | $144,350 |
| 335200 | Household Appliance Manufacturing | 220 | $96,040 | $134,980 | $167,030 |
| 312100 | Beverage Manufacturing | 210 | $86,540 | $112,670 | $133,070 |
| 327000 | Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | 200 | $84,710 | $106,520 | $127,260 |
| 327000 | Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | 200 | $84,710 | $106,520 | $127,260 |
| 331300 | Alumina and Aluminum Production and Processing | 160 | $89,800 | $118,960 | $154,330 |
| 321000 | Wood Product Manufacturing | 150 | $72,850 | $96,990 | $133,400 |
| 336900 | Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | 140 | $86,980 | $114,170 | $134,920 |
| 311500 | Dairy Product Manufacturing | 130 | $82,830 | $105,000 | $117,580 |
| 315000 | Apparel Manufacturing | 130 | $116,840 | $132,380 | $158,820 |
| 336500 | Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing | 130 | $98,000 | $110,550 | $136,080 |
| 315200 | Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing | 120 | $118,160 | $131,360 | $167,460 |
| 311400 | Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing | 110 | $80,740 | $97,950 | $130,710 |
| 321900 | Other Wood Product Manufacturing | 110 | $69,510 | $86,640 | $110,780 |
| 324000 | Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | 110 | $101,640 | $136,490 | $173,150 |
| 324100 | Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | 110 | $101,640 | $136,490 | $173,150 |
| 331100 | Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing | 100 | $84,760 | $102,210 | $120,260 |
| 331500 | Foundries | 100 | $93,870 | $114,310 | $132,090 |
| 331200 | Steel Product Manufacturing from Purchased Steel | 70 | $84,550 | $92,550 | $105,470 |
| 332720 | Turned Product and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing | 70 | $80,230 | $93,990 | $115,680 |
| 311100 | Animal Food Manufacturing | 60 | $92,330 | $121,930 | $137,770 |
| 311800 | Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing | 60 | $99,830 | $101,490 | $135,690 |
| 314000 | Textile Product Mills | 60 | $95,370 | $107,390 | $127,310 |
| 322100 | Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills | 60 | $109,500 | $134,500 | $174,040 |
| 337900 | Other Furniture Related Product Manufacturing | 60 | $84,730 | $101,440 | $135,900 |
| 311200 | Grain and Oilseed Milling | 50 | $60,140 | $116,710 | $124,790 |
| 311300 | Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing | 50 | $76,970 | $84,580 | $110,810 |
| 311600 | Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 50 | $95,040 | $110,810 | $130,320 |
| 331400 | Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Production and Processing | 50 | $82,470 | $98,360 | $127,800 |
| 339910 | Jewelry and Silverware Manufacturing | 50 | $86,090 | $94,440 | $108,090 |
| 313000 | Textile Mills | 40 | $74,890 | $88,780 | $103,820 |
| 314100 | Textile Furnishings Mills | 40 | $96,240 | $124,810 | $130,290 |
| 332800 | Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities | 40 | $86,310 | $114,450 | $136,220 |
| 321200 | Veneer, Plywood, and Engineered Wood Product Manufacturing | 30 | $98,860 | $119,300 | $133,400 |
| 336200 | Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing | Not published by BLS | $77,860 | $95,140 | $101,640 |
What should you know about manufacturing pay mix?
For SCADA / HMI Engineer, clarify the base pay before discussing call-outs, travel or extra shifts. OEWS includes base rate, guaranteed pay and production incentive pay. It excludes overtime premium, shift differentials and nonproduction bonuses. An attendance bonus is not a production bonus; confirm its purpose and treatment rather than adding every bonus to the BLS figure.
Skills-based pay steps affect the base rate when they are part of straight-time pay; BLS does not publish a separate rate for each plant's skill grade. Ask whether a tool allowance is expense reimbursement or wage pay. OEWS does not publish a separate tool-allowance component. Keep these items separate in the offer so the published wage is not mistaken for the whole package.
Pay mix here means how published medians for this one BLS occupation differ across manufacturing industries and against the all-industry median. It does not split pay into base, incentive or overtime. BLS wages are straight-time gross pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials and nonproduction bonuses.
What should you know about two BLS releases?
| Release period | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | $103,050 | $133,080 | $169,000 |
| May 2025 | $105,210 | $135,980 | $171,980 |
These are two separate BLS estimates from different survey panels. The workers and employers behind them differ, so the gap is not like-for-like pay for the same workers and is not a growth rate. We show no percentage change.
Recruiter's read. Qualitative, not BLS data.
What should you know about an interview based on the work?
Build the interview around operator interfaces, alarm behavior and supervisory process visibility. A practical discussion of an alarm or screen change that improved diagnosis without hiding a condition can test judgment without using confidential drawings or customer information. Those limits help establish supervisory software rather than only PLC ladder programming; they are part of competence, not a weakness to talk around.
What should you know about questions?
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
What is the median pay for a SCADA / HMI Engineer?
The median annual wage for Software Developers in the United States was $135,980 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $105,210 and $171,980. This is the broader occupation BLS publishes, not a figure for this exact title.
What does the 10th percentile mean here?
10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than $82,460. 90% earned less than $214,670.
Does this include overtime or bonuses?
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
Is this the pay for a SCADA / HMI Engineer at a plant?
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title. These are occupation estimates across all industries, not an offer for a particular manufacturing title.
How many people work in this occupation?
BLS estimated 1,687,890 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.
What should you know about related?
What does this data mean for your opening?
Manufacturing Headhunters presents this salary breakdown for the SCADA / HMI Engineer, which is mapped to the SOC 15-1252 Software Developers. The national median for this category is $135,980, reflecting a median increase of $2,900 from the May 2024 reporting.
The middle-band width of $66,770, covering the gap between the P25 at $105,210 and the P75 at $171,980, illustrates the significant pay dispersion in software development roles. Because this data relies on the broad software developer classification, it does not specifically isolate plant-based SCADA and HMI technical roles from broader corporate software engineering functions.
National sector medians reveal the pay dynamics of industries reliant on supervisory systems. Motor Vehicle Manufacturing reports a median of $172,360, Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing shows $169,030, and Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing stands at $168,400. These are national medians and remain separate from any local plant-level wage data. It is important to note that BLS methodology excludes bonuses and equity incentives, which are common within software engineering, implying that the provided figures are conservative estimates of total cash compensation for SCADA roles.
Metropolitan area benchmarks show New York-Newark-Jersey City with a median of $166,830 and a middle-band width of $75,320, while Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue indicates a median of $167,280 and a middle-band width of $79,060. These metros are selected based on their high concentration of software development employment. A location quotient confirms that these regions possess high densities of developers but does not act as a determinant for local market pay or the supply of automation-specific talent. These figures serve to represent the local market for software development overall.
The screening context focuses on an alarm or screen change that improved diagnosis, emphasizing supervisory software over general PLC programming. Since the SCADA / HMI Engineer is mapped to the broad SOC 15-1252, the data aggregates a wide population of developers. These figures are exact as provided; they do not adjust for the specific plant-floor environments or the unique skills of HMI development. When setting compensation, ensure the job requirements align with the professional expectations of the software developer category as defined by the SOC.
Which pay questions should you settle before hiring?
How does the software developer mapping impact the relevance of the data for SCADA / HMI Engineers?
The mapping to SOC 15-1252 means the data captures many general software development roles. While applicable to SCADA work, it includes corporate software engineers who may have different pay profiles.
Does the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing median suggest higher pay for SCADA roles in that sector?
Yes, the $172,360 median in Motor Vehicle Manufacturing is higher than the national median, indicating that manufacturing-heavy industries often command premium software talent pay.
Why is the $66,770 middle-band width so large for software roles?
The width reflects the immense variance in demand and skill sets within software development. It suggests that base pay is highly dependent on specific technical requirements and organizational scale.
Related recruiting or pay page · Related wage comparison 1 · Data methodology · Related wage comparison 3 · Related wage comparison 4