Compared with the local labor market
Transportation Engineer (Civil) pay vs. California
Across all employers in California, the median wage for Civil Engineers — about 55,180 people — is $122,500. CA High Speed Rail Authority pays a median base salary of $108,217 for this role, 12% below that figure — about the 36th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where CA High Speed Rail Authority sits in the local pay range
$77,980
$96,590
$122,500
$149,350
$175,940
CA High Speed Rail Authority median · $108,217
The bar is the range of annual wages for Civil Engineers across every employer in California, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows CA High Speed Rail Authority’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Civil Engineers — about 367,840 people — is $100,840. CA High Speed Rail Authority’s median base salary is 7% above that national figure, about the 56th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$68,240
$79,930
$100,840
$129,680
$163,220
CA High Speed Rail Authority median · $108,217
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the California range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at CA High Speed Rail Authority is $108,962, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across California
Transportation Engineer (Civil) is held in 3 California departments. In CA High Speed Rail Authority, the median of $108,962 ranks #3 of 3.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Transportation Engineer (Civil) role in other Californiadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Transportation Engineer beyond California
This role is reported in 5 jurisdictions. In California, the median of $126,907 ranks #3 of 5. See Transportation Engineer across all of California →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Transportation Engineerroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.