Project Engineer, Data Center Salary in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

This is the Data Center Headhunters salary guide.

BLS does not measure Project Engineer, Data Center as its own occupation, so this page uses Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2051, broader occupation). The median annual wage in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA was $106,280 (BLS, May 2025), and the middle half earned $82,580 to $135,870. That is $5,440 above the national median of $100,840.

This is what we do all day: recruit data center professionals.

Broader occupation

Civil Engineers is a broader occupation based on the work described, not a separate data center wage series. BLS does not distinguish this title, experience level, shift, credentials or data center employers. Confirm the actual duties before using this comparison.

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Civil Engineers, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, annual wages
Point	Annual wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$78,860	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$82,580	25% earned less than this.
Median	$106,280	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$135,870	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$166,060	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$118,470	Average wage.

Civil Engineers, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, hourly wages
Point	Hourly wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$37.91	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$39.7	25% earned less than this.
Median	$51.1	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$65.32	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$79.84	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$56.96	Average wage.

United States

Civil Engineers, United States, annual wages
Point	Annual wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$68,240	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$79,930	25% earned less than this.
Median	$100,840	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$129,680	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$163,220	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$108,670	Average wage.

Civil Engineers, United States, hourly wages
Point	Hourly wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$32.81	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$38.43	25% earned less than this.
Median	$48.48	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$62.34	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$78.47	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$52.24	Average wage.

What BLS wages include: base pay plus any guaranteed or production-based incentive pay. What they leave out: overtime, discretionary bonus, benefits, per diem and relocation.

Employment: 4,180. Location quotient: 1.46.

Location quotient measures job concentration, not pay. A value above 1 means the occupation makes up a larger share of local jobs than it does nationally. It says nothing about wages.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 17-2051 Civil Engineers, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA. View this release at BLS.

Pay relative to all occupations

Median for this occupation divided by the all-occupations median, same area, same annual basis
Measure	Value
This occupation, median	$106,280
All occupations (SOC 00-0000), median	$60,690
Relative wage	1.75 times

A ratio of 1.00 means the same median as all workers in the area. It is arithmetic on two BLS medians, not a BLS statistic.

Change since the prior BLS release

Median annual wage, same SOC and same BLS area code, two releases
Reference period	Median
May 2024	$104,360
May 2025	$106,280
Difference	+$1,920 (+1.8%)

Two published BLS values, shown as released. Not annualized, not adjusted for inflation, and BLS metro boundaries and survey panels can differ between releases.

What is inside the BLS pay figure

For construction and commissioning hires, separate expense reimbursements and overtime from straight-time pay. Check a project bonus on its actual terms. Guaranteed pay and production incentives count in BLS wages; discretionary nonproduction bonuses do not.

Pay components for Construction & Project Delivery roles against the BLS wage definition
Component	In the BLS figure?	Note
Base rate and guaranteed pay	Included	BLS counts the "base rate" and "guaranteed pay".
Production and incentive pay	Included	BLS counts "incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses".
On-call pay	Included	BLS lists "on-call pay" and "hazardous-duty pay" as wages.
Overtime pay matters here	Left out	BLS excludes "overtime pay". Straight-time pay only.
Shift differentials	Left out	BLS excludes "shift differentials", so night and weekend premiums are not in the figure.
Project-completion and discretionary bonuses matters here	Depends on the terms	Guaranteed pay and production incentives are included. Discretionary nonproduction bonuses are excluded. Check how the payment is defined.
Per diem, travel and relocation matters here	Left out	BLS does not name these as wages. They are expense reimbursements and are not in the figure.
Benefits and employer costs	Left out	BLS excludes "employer costs for supplementary benefits".

Nearby and other areas

Recruiter's read

Qualitative, not from BLS data.

Project Engineer, Data Center candidates are usually screened on submittals and RFIs on electrical and mechanical gear; Procore and Bluebeam; Cx issue log tracking.

We usually find them through gC early-career pipeline; engineering grads with data center internships; military engineers. We contact working people directly rather than relying on job applications.

Hiring Market Brief

A one-page brief for Project Engineer, Data Center in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: BLS pay, mapping and caveats.

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What the published rows say about Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA is represented here by Civil Engineers, SOC 17-2051, in the May 2025 OEWS release. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, data Center Headhunters uses the broader crosswalk for this title; the occupation row, rather than a separate survey of Project Engineer, Data Center, supplies the figures on this page. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, the published annual median is $106,280 and the middle-half endpoints are $82,580 and $135,870.

The Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA middle-half band spans $53,290 on the annual basis. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, its lower quarter-to-median distance is $23,700, compared with $29,590 from the median to the upper quarter. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, the upper interval is at least as wide as the other interval in this row. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, for an offer against this Project Engineer, Data Center crosswalk, these are published reference points, not experience grades; the width does not establish a reason for differences between individual workers.

At $106,280, the Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA median is $5,440 above the $100,840 national median for the same SOC 17-2051 and annual basis. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, that comparison is arithmetic on two May 2025 BLS rows. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, it is not a cost-of-living adjustment for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, and it does not establish a separate data center premium for Project Engineer, Data Center.

Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA can also be compared with Longview-Kelso, WA, where the annual median for Civil Engineers is $102,750 in May 2025. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, this is among the two nearest usable metropolitan reference points to the Census area internal point. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, the Project Engineer, Data Center crosswalk comparison differs by $3,530 from the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA median.

Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA can also be compared with Salem, OR, where the annual median for Civil Engineers is $115,480 in May 2025. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, this is among the two nearest usable metropolitan reference points to the Census area internal point. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, the Project Engineer, Data Center crosswalk comparison differs by $9,200 from the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA median.

Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA has no local industry-by-occupation wage breakdown in the loaded OEWS rows. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, the highest published national industry medians loaded for SOC 17-2051 are Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers at $180,350 and Oil and Gas Extraction at $176,150. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, these May 2025 observations describe the national Civil Engineers occupation in those industries, not the pay of data center employers in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA; they cannot support a local industry ranking.

The Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA matched median changed from $104,360 in May 2024 to $106,280 in May 2025, a difference of $1,920 up. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, both observations use SOC 17-2051, area code 38900 and the same annual wage basis. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, this Project Engineer, Data Center comparison reports the released values without adjusting for inflation, annualizing the change or attributing it to a particular employer.

Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA uses the OEWS straight-time wage definition, not a complete cost-to-employ budget. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, for an offer mapped to Civil Engineers, separate overtime, shift differentials and expense reimbursements from the annual figures for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA; BLS excludes those categories. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, on-call pay, guaranteed pay and production incentives are included under the wage definition. For Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, no Project Engineer, Data Center-specific per diem, travel allowance or relocation amount is observed in this row, so this May 2025 page adds no dollar allowance on top.

Questions about Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Which BLS row supports Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA?

Project Engineer, Data Center is mapped to SOC 17-2051, Civil Engineers; the May 2025 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA annual median is $106,280. The mapping is broader, not a separate survey of this niche title.

Does the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA figure show all offer costs for Project Engineer, Data Center?

Project Engineer, Data Center pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA uses straight-time OEWS wages. Overtime and shift differentials are excluded; on-call and guaranteed pay are included. No allowance for travel or relocation is added to this 17-2051 observation.

Nearest-area selection uses Census Gazetteer internal points, not road distance. Source: 2025 Census Gazetteer.