Mid-career New York baseline: $72,000. Each city lists local-market pay and a COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent — the equivalent is not market pay.
| # | City | Local market | Lifestyle equivalent | COLI | Take-Home % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zurich | CHF 39,669 | CHF 71,405 | 122.4 | 65.3% |
| 2 | Geneva | CHF 39,669 | CHF 69,188 | 118.6 | 61.3% |
| 3 | New York | $72,000 | $72,000 | 100.0 | 66.9% |
| 4 | San Francisco | $72,000 | $70,272 | 97.6 | 67.9% |
| 5 | Singapore | S$51,587 | S$82,258 | 87.7 | 77.4% |
| 6 | London | £34,699 | £47,440 | 87.5 | 74.1% |
| 7 | Copenhagen | kr 228,524 | kr 391,690 | 85.7 | 62.6% |
| 8 | Amsterdam | €42,734 | €50,426 | 82.6 | 63.0% |
| 9 | Boston | $72,000 | $59,328 | 82.4 | 68.2% |
| 10 | Tel Aviv | ₪134,761 | ₪210,694 | 81.3 | 75.9% |
| 11 | Miami | $72,000 | $57,672 | 80.1 | 77.2% |
| 12 | Washington DC | $72,000 | $57,456 | 79.8 | 68.7% |
| 13 | Seattle | $72,000 | $57,240 | 79.5 | 77.2% |
| 14 | Oslo | kr 397,789 | kr 567,754 | 78.5 | 68.7% |
| 15 | San Diego | $72,000 | $55,800 | 77.5 | 67.9% |
| 16 | Tokyo | ¥4,461,398 | ¥8,621,651 | 77.3 | 74.8% |
| 17 | Los Angeles | $72,000 | $54,936 | 76.3 | 67.9% |
| 18 | Sydney | A$65,477 | A$76,219 | 74.5 | 84.1% |
| 19 | Hong Kong | HK$281,928 | HK$414,998 | 73.6 | 89.1% |
| 20 | Chicago | $72,000 | $52,704 | 73.2 | 72.3% |
| 21 | Dublin | €30,524 | €44,443 | 72.8 | 76.0% |
| 22 | Dubai | AED 135,635 | AED 188,846 | 72.4 | 100.0% |
| 23 | Doha | QAR 131,205 | QAR 182,375 | 69.5 | 100.0% |
| 24 | Seoul | ₩34,735,663 | ₩62,981,241 | 68.9 | 79.2% |
| 25 | Philadelphia | $72,000 | $49,536 | 68.8 | 74.2% |
| 26 | Luxembourg City | €32,966 | €41,757 | 68.4 | 74.5% |
| 27 | Melbourne | A$65,477 | A$69,774 | 68.2 | 84.1% |
| 28 | Abu Dhabi | AED 135,635 | AED 176,848 | 67.8 | 100.0% |
| 29 | Portland | $72,000 | $48,384 | 67.2 | 67.3% |
| 30 | Denver | $72,000 | $47,304 | 65.7 | 72.8% |
| 31 | Vancouver | C$66,288 | C$63,753 | 65.4 | 69.6% |
| 32 | Austin | $72,000 | $46,656 | 64.8 | 77.2% |
| 33 | Tampa | $72,000 | $46,440 | 64.5 | 77.2% |
| 34 | Stockholm | kr 412,954 | kr 421,475 | 64.3 | 61.0% |
| 35 | Perth | A$65,477 | A$64,965 | 63.5 | 84.1% |
| 36 | Atlanta | $72,000 | $45,504 | 63.2 | 71.7% |
| 37 | Nashville | $72,000 | $45,216 | 62.8 | 77.2% |
| 38 | Osaka | ¥4,461,398 | ¥7,004,394 | 62.8 | 74.8% |
| 39 | Dallas | $72,000 | $45,000 | 62.5 | 77.2% |
| 40 | Toronto | C$66,288 | C$60,731 | 62.3 | 68.2% |
| 41 | Edinburgh | £34,699 | £33,669 | 62.1 | 74.9% |
| 42 | Munich | €54,333 | €37,545 | 61.5 | 60.9% |
| 43 | Minneapolis | $72,000 | $44,208 | 61.4 | 69.4% |
| 44 | Auckland | NZ$66,134 | NZ$70,543 | 60.8 | 77.6% |
| 45 | Houston | $72,000 | $43,344 | 60.2 | 77.2% |
| 46 | Charlotte | $72,000 | $43,056 | 59.8 | 72.7% |
| 47 | Phoenix | $72,000 | $42,408 | 58.9 | 74.7% |
| 48 | Raleigh | $72,000 | $42,192 | 58.6 | 72.7% |
| 49 | Helsinki | €27,472 | €35,530 | 58.2 | 80.5% |
| 50 | Las Vegas | $72,000 | $41,904 | 58.2 | 77.2% |
| 51 | Milan | €19,535 | €35,286 | 57.8 | 67.3% |
| 52 | Nice | €38,460 | €32,172 | 52.7 | 65.5% |
| 53 | Montreal | C$66,288 | C$50,788 | 52.1 | 62.3% |
| 54 | Fukuoka | ¥4,461,398 | ¥5,732,896 | 51.4 | 74.8% |
| 55 | Berlin | €54,333 | €31,257 | 51.2 | 60.9% |
| 56 | Brussels | €26,861 | €30,707 | 50.3 | 76.1% |
| 57 | Rome | €19,535 | €30,097 | 49.3 | 67.3% |
| 58 | Vienna | €28,082 | €29,425 | 48.2 | 68.8% |
| 59 | Paris | €38,460 | €28,632 | 46.9 | 65.5% |
| 60 | Shanghai | ¥106,634 | ¥223,931 | 46.2 | 69.9% |
| 61 | Taipei | NT$728,675 | NT$1,020,145 | 44.8 | 88.2% |
| 62 | Beijing | ¥106,634 | ¥210,844 | 43.5 | 69.9% |
| 63 | Riyadh | SAR 118,800 | SAR 115,020 | 42.6 | 90.2% |
| 64 | Panama City | $12,960 | $30,456 | 42.3 | 88.0% |
| 65 | Barcelona | €19,535 | €25,701 | 42.1 | 72.8% |
| 66 | Shenzhen | ¥106,634 | ¥203,089 | 41.9 | 69.9% |
| 67 | São Paulo | R$58,120 | R$151,840 | 41.8 | 76.7% |
| 68 | Guangzhou | ¥106,634 | ¥187,578 | 38.7 | 69.9% |
| 69 | Madrid | €19,535 | €23,198 | 38.0 | 72.8% |
| 70 | Bangkok | ฿290,082 | ฿830,082 | 37.2 | 94.5% |
| 71 | Cancún | MX$170,783 | MX$436,717 | 35.8 | 87.3% |
| 72 | Lisbon | €17,093 | €21,184 | 34.7 | 71.4% |
| 73 | Valencia | €19,535 | €20,451 | 33.5 | 72.8% |
| 74 | Santiago | CLP 10,800,000 | CLP 22,410,000 | 33.2 | 79.8% |
| 75 | Kuala Lumpur | RM 52,699 | RM 96,029 | 32.8 | 85.6% |
| 76 | Mexico City | MX$170,783 | MX$396,461 | 32.5 | 87.3% |
| 77 | Montevideo | $U 423,542 | $U 983,223 | 32.5 | 81.9% |
| 78 | Split | €13,431 | €19,413 | 31.8 | 60.0% |
| 79 | Málaga | €19,535 | €19,047 | 31.2 | 72.8% |
| 80 | San José (CR) | ₡5,829,398 | ₡11,367,325 | 31.2 | 89.3% |
| 81 | Playa del Carmen | MX$170,783 | MX$375,723 | 30.8 | 87.3% |
| 82 | Athens | €15,262 | €18,681 | 30.6 | 72.6% |
| 83 | Prague | Kč 431,349 | Kč 507,665 | 30.6 | 74.0% |
| 84 | Phuket | ฿290,082 | ฿680,578 | 30.5 | 94.5% |
| 85 | Porto | €17,093 | €18,376 | 30.1 | 71.4% |
| 86 | Tallinn | €15,873 | €17,643 | 28.9 | 88.3% |
| 87 | Cape Town | R 236,169 | R 372,622 | 28.4 | 81.9% |
| 88 | Warsaw | zł 67,663 | zł 80,067 | 28.4 | 79.6% |
| 89 | Lagos | ₦7,969,880 | ₦31,082,530 | 27.3 | 70.6% |
| 90 | Manila | ₱323,133 | ₱1,082,494 | 26.8 | 91.6% |
| 91 | Ho Chi Minh City | ₫162,000,000 | ₫475,200,000 | 26.4 | 80.1% |
| 92 | Budapest | Ft 5,172,289 | Ft 6,749,837 | 26.1 | 66.5% |
| 93 | Lima | S/26,675 | S/68,821 | 25.8 | 87.0% |
| 94 | Buenos Aires | AR$9,628,916 | AR$20,541,687 | 25.6 | 56.8% |
| 95 | Bali (Denpasar) | Rp 100,030,120 | Rp 281,195,783 | 25.3 | 86.0% |
| 96 | Riga | €13,431 | €15,445 | 25.3 | 69.5% |
| 97 | Phnom Penh | $5,040 | $17,856 | 24.8 | 100.0% |
| 98 | Nairobi | KSh 650,873 | KSh 2,296,654 | 24.7 | 73.6% |
| 99 | Jakarta | Rp 100,030,120 | Rp 272,304,217 | 24.5 | 86.0% |
| 100 | Hanoi | ₫162,000,000 | ₫433,800,000 | 24.1 | 80.1% |
| 101 | Krakow | zł 67,663 | zł 67,099 | 23.8 | 79.6% |
| 102 | Istanbul | ₺368,675 | ₺532,274 | 23.1 | 63.9% |
| 103 | Bogotá | COP 32,920,482 | COP 68,534,458 | 22.9 | 92.0% |
| 104 | Chiang Mai | ฿290,082 | ฿504,297 | 22.6 | 94.5% |
| 105 | Bucharest | lei 54,846 | lei 68,557 | 22.5 | 55.0% |
| 106 | Mumbai | ₹659,006 | ₹1,335,985 | 22.3 | 94.0% |
| 107 | Casablanca | MAD 55,952 | MAD 154,567 | 22.1 | 88.0% |
| 108 | Bangalore | ₹659,006 | ₹1,246,120 | 20.8 | 94.0% |
| 109 | Medellín | COP 32,920,482 | COP 61,052,530 | 20.4 | 92.0% |
| 110 | Delhi | ₹659,006 | ₹1,168,238 | 19.5 | 94.0% |
| 111 | Marrakech | MAD 55,952 | MAD 134,284 | 19.2 | 88.0% |
| 112 | Chennai | ₹659,006 | ₹1,132,292 | 18.9 | 94.0% |
| 113 | Cairo | E£245,928 | E£590,227 | 16.8 | 72.7% |
Data covers 113 cities. Local market = verified / OECD / COLI badge (same as /is-my-salary-good/). Lifestyle equivalent = NYC baseline × city COLI / 100 — not market pay. Updated 2026.
Typical civil engineer salary range (New York baseline, USD):
The mid-career civil engineer New York baseline is $72,000. Each city shows two numbers: local-market pay (verified national stats, OECD estimate, or COLI fallback) and a lifestyle equivalent (NYC baseline scaled by city COLI). The equivalent is not what someone earns locally.
The highest COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent for a civil engineer is Zurich at $88,128 USD. That figure is purchasing-power scaled from the New York baseline, not local market pay. See both columns in the table for all 113 cities.
Local-market pay uses the same country multipliers as /is-my-salary-good/ (verified national statistics, OECD wage ratios, or COLI fallback). Lifestyle equivalent starts from the New York baseline and scales by city COLI (NYC = 100). Take-home percentage is tax and social contributions on the local-market figure.