Cost Estimator Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 4,518 US job postings by 1,590 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for cost estimators: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 4,518 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for cost estimators in US job postings is $110,000 a year (995 postings from 355 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $85,000 to $144,000.
- The skills that most set cost estimator postings apart are estimating software, bluebeam.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 4 years of experience.
Cost Estimator job postings in the US, October 2026
- $110,000
- Median advertised pay (995 postings)
- $85,000–$144,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 4,518
- US job postings from 1,590 employers
- 4 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a cost estimator make?
The median advertised pay is $110,000 a year, from 995 US job postings by 355 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $168,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 995 US cost estimator job postings: median $110,000 a year, middle half $85,000 to $144,000.
- Median: $110,000
- 25th percentile: $85,000
- 75th percentile: $144,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.1% |
| $30K–$40K | 0.2% |
| $40K–$50K | 2.8% |
| $50K–$60K | 5.2% |
| $60K–$70K | 4.0% |
| $70K–$80K | 8.0% |
| $80K–$90K | 7.8% |
| $90K–$100K | 6.3% |
| $100K–$110K | 12.6% |
| $110K–$120K | 9.3% |
| $120K–$130K | 8.7% |
| $130K–$140K | 7.3% |
| $140K–$150K | 5.2% |
| $150K–$160K | 6.3% |
| $160K–$170K | 6.7% |
| $170K–$180K | 3.2% |
| $180K–$190K | 1.6% |
| $190K–$200K | 1.0% |
| $200K–$210K | 1.8% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.8% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.1% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $117,000 | $95K–$148K | 786 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $110,000 | $85K–$144K | 995 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Cost Estimators (13-1051) at $79,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a cost estimator?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Cost estimator levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked. Senior cost estimators have a median advertised pay of $152,000 a year.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No level in title | 75.3% | 3 years | $105,000 |
| Senior | 18.1% | 5 years | $152,000 |
Highest-paying cost estimator jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimator | $112,000 | 899 | 324 |
Cost estimator pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $130,000 | $104,000–$157,000 | 126 | 10.4% |
Skills employers ask for in cost estimator job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 51% |
| Excel | 39% |
| Microsoft Office | 30% |
| Organizational skills | 29% |
| Analytical skills | 27% |
| Attention to detail | 26% |
| Word | 18% |
| Problem-solving | 16% |
| Estimating software | 16% |
| Bluebeam | 15% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set cost estimators apart
- Estimating software234× as often as in all postings · 16%
- Estimating88.2× as often as in all postings · 15%
- Bluebeam50× as often as in all postings · 15%
- Excel3.8× as often as in all postings · 39%
- Microsoft Office3.4× as often as in all postings · 30%
- Analytical skills3.6× as often as in all postings · 27%
- Construction estimating221.2× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Estimating experience227.8× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Word3.1× as often as in all postings · 18%
- Outlook3.1× as often as in all postings · 12%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a cost estimator job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a cost estimator do?
Employers post these jobs as Estimator, Senior Estimator, Construction Estimator, Electrical Estimator, Project Estimator and other titles. The largest specializations are Estimator (87%), Electrical Estimator (9%).
The closest official occupation is Cost Estimators (13-1051.00). Its most important tasks:
- Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
- Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.
- Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
- Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.
- Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a cost estimator?
Among 2,372 postings that state a minimum, the median is 4 years. 2% say 0 years and 8% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 2,372 US cost estimator job postings: median 4 years, and 8% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 2% |
| 1 yr | 7% |
| 2 yrs | 15% |
| 3-4 yrs | 29% |
| 5-7 yrs | 35% |
| 8-9 yrs | 4% |
| 10+ yrs | 9% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 98% of the 468 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a cost estimator: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Estimator | 480 (30.2%) |
| Senior Estimator | 253 (15.9%) |
| Construction Estimator | 152 (9.6%) |
| Electrical Estimator | 127 (8.0%) |
| Cost Estimator | 85 (5.3%) |
| Project Estimator | 80 (5.0%) |
| Estimating Manager | 68 (4.3%) |
| Project Manager/Estimator | 62 (3.9%) |
| Chief Estimator | 60 (3.8%) |
| Lead Estimator | 47 (3.0%) |
| Mechanical Estimator | 46 (2.9%) |
| Estimator II | 40 (2.5%) |
| Senior Electrical Estimator | 37 (2.3%) |
| Junior Estimator | 36 (2.3%) |
| Estimator I | 35 (2.2%) |
| Sr. Estimator | 34 (2.1%) |
| Estimating Intern | 25 (1.6%) |
| Commercial Estimator | 24 (1.5%) |
| Civil Estimator | 21 (1.3%) |
| Plumbing Estimator | 19 (1.2%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Cost estimator job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction Estimator | 197 | 152 | – | – | communication, Excel, organizational skills |
| Estimator | 1,172 | 480 | $100K | 3 years | communication, Excel, Microsoft Office |
Cost Estimator compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Estimator | $110K | 4 years | 4,518 | – |
| Construction Manager | $115K | 5 years | 21,323 | 19 |
| Project Manager | $130K | 5 years | 40,708 | 17 |
| Auto Body Technician | $64K | 2 years | 5,208 | 12 |
| Building Inspector | $38.38/hr | 3 years | 2,755 | 15 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Construction Manager | 19 | $115K |
| Project Manager | 17 | $130K |
| Auto Body Technician | 12 | $64K |
| Building Inspector | 15 | $38.38/hr |
| Claims Adjuster | 18 | $78K |
| Operations Manager | 18 | $85K |
Applying for cost estimator jobs?
- Cost estimator resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find cost estimator jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cost estimator make?
How much does an Estimator make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 20 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.