Best States for Industrial Engineers in 2026: California Leads, Alaska Pays the Most

Across the United States, industrial engineers have a national median annual salary of $102,440 and a national employment count of 365,740. The occupation also carries a national projected employment growth rate of 11.0%, which provides context for evaluating the state results but does not translate into state-level growth projections. Within this national landscape, LaborCove’s top ten states show distinct combinations of compensation, employment scale, and Geography Scores. California ranks first overall with the largest reported employment count of 32,680 and a median salary of $124,600, while Texas and Michigan each combine large employment counts near or just below California’s level with different Geography Scores and pay levels. Other states in the top ten stand out primarily on compensation or Geography Score rather than size. Alaska, for example, has a median salary of $156,510 and a Geography Score of 53.60 with an employment count of 220, while Washington and Oregon both show median salaries above $128,000 with mid-sized employment counts. These contrasts illustrate how LaborCove’s rankings reflect more than a single dimension such as salary or employment alone.

LaborCove’s national benchmark shows industrial engineers with a median annual salary of $102,440 and total national employment of 365,740. Together, these figures describe both the typical pay level and the overall size of the occupation across the country. The national projected employment growth rate for industrial engineers is 11.0%. This projection applies to the occupation nationally and does not indicate how employment may change in any specific state. In this article, it serves as a backdrop for comparing how the top states currently look on salary, employment, and Geography Scores rather than as a state-level forecast.

California holds the #1 spot in LaborCove’s state rankings for industrial engineers with a Geography Score of 69.84. That score is higher than the Geography Scores reported for any of the other top ten states. California also has the largest employment count among the listed top states, with 32,680 industrial engineering roles, and that figure matches the supplied largest employment market value of 32,680. Its median annual salary for industrial engineers is $124,600, which is higher than the national median of $102,440. Compared with several other high-employment states in the top ten, California combines a larger employment count with a higher Geography Score. For example, California’s Geography Score of 69.84 is higher than Texas’s 54.21 and Michigan’s 47.64, even though all three states report employment counts close to or above 30,000 industrial engineers.

Texas ranks #2 for industrial engineers with a Geography Score of 54.21, a median salary of $104,560, and an employment count of 30,980. Michigan ranks #4 with a Geography Score of 47.64, a median salary of $101,680, and an employment count of 30,990. Texas and Michigan have similar employment counts, each near 31,000, and both are slightly below California’s employment count of 32,680. Texas has a higher median salary than Michigan, with $104,560 compared with Michigan’s $101,680. Texas also has a higher Geography Score than Michigan, at 54.21 versus 47.64. Relative to the national benchmark, Texas’s median salary of $104,560 is higher than the national median of $102,440, while Michigan’s median salary of $101,680 is slightly lower than the national median. These comparisons highlight how two high-employment states can rank differently when salary and Geography Score are taken into account.

Washington ranks #5 with a Geography Score of 45.22, a median salary of $129,050, and an employment count of 6,130 industrial engineers. Oregon ranks #8 with a Geography Score of 39.95, a median salary of $128,290, and an employment count of 5,810. Both Washington and Oregon have median salaries above California’s national benchmark context of $102,440. Washington’s median salary of $129,050 is higher than Oregon’s $128,290. Washington also has a larger employment count than Oregon, with 6,130 industrial engineers compared with Oregon’s 5,810. In terms of Geography Score, Washington’s score of 45.22 is higher than Oregon’s 39.95. Both states have Geography Scores lower than California’s 69.84 and Texas’s 54.21 but remain in the top ten, illustrating that they combine relatively high salaries with moderate employment counts and mid-range Geography Scores among the ranked states.

Alaska ranks #3 in LaborCove’s state list for industrial engineers, with a Geography Score of 53.60. It also reports the highest median salary among the top ten states, at $156,510, which is higher than California’s $124,600 and Washington’s $129,050. At the same time, Alaska’s reported employment count for industrial engineers is 220, which is much smaller than the employment counts reported for California, Texas, and Michigan. For example, California’s employment count of 32,680 is far larger than Alaska’s 220. Alaska’s combination of a high Geography Score, very high median salary, and a comparatively small employment count shows how a state can place near the top of LaborCove’s rankings without matching the largest states in the number of employed industrial engineers.

Several Midwestern and Northeastern states appear in LaborCove’s top ten for industrial engineers. Ohio ranks #6 with a Geography Score of 43.95, a median salary of $100,060, and an employment count of 23,480. Minnesota ranks #9 with a Geography Score of 38.13, a median salary of $102,660, and an employment count of 17,580. Comparing these two states, Ohio has a larger employment count than Minnesota, with 23,480 industrial engineers compared with Minnesota’s 17,580. Ohio’s median salary of $100,060 is lower than Minnesota’s $102,660. Ohio’s Geography Score of 43.95 is higher than Minnesota’s 38.13. Massachusetts and Illinois also feature in the top ten. Massachusetts, ranked #7, has a Geography Score of 40.91, a median salary of $109,420, and an employment count of 11,470. Illinois, ranked #10, has a Geography Score of 37.87, a median salary of $100,540, and an employment count of 18,640. Massachusetts reports a higher median salary than Illinois, while Illinois reports a larger employment count than Massachusetts.

LaborCove builds its Best States rankings for industrial engineers using authoritative U.S. labor-market data combined with the proprietary LaborCove Geography Score. For each state, the analysis incorporates the supplied median annual salary, employment count, and Geography Score for industrial engineers (SOC 17-2112). National context in this article—such as the median annual salary of $102,440, national employment of 365,740, and the 11.0% national projected employment growth rate—describes the occupation across the United States as a whole. The growth rate is a national occupational projection and is not an estimate or forecast for any individual state. The underlying occupational employment statistics used here refer to observations from May 2025, which are then summarized for the 2026 report year. May 2025 is the reference month and year for the OEWS-style employment and wage observations; the 2026 label describes the product/report year, not the observation period itself. LaborCove’s Geography Score provides a single comparable value for each state but does not disclose the weighting of salary, employment, or other factors inside the score. Readers should view these rankings as structured benchmarks and interpret them alongside their own priorities such as preferred regions, industries, or non-work considerations, which are not captured in the numeric evidence used here.