Salary data reveals evolving compensation trends, including regional, role-specific, and growth-driven salary differences.
Compensation is always a hot topic in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, and for good reason – it’s one of the biggest expenses for firms and a critical factor in attracting and retaining talent. Zweig Group’s recently released 2025 Salary Report of AEC Firms and its updated compensation data platform, Zweig Insights, offer a comprehensive look at how salaries are evolving across the industry. For firm leaders and HR professionals, this data serves as an invaluable tool for benchmarking compensation strategies and staying competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.
The 2025 Salary Report of AEC Firms is divided into three regional editions – North and South Atlantic, Central, and Pacific and Mountain – allowing firms to dig into the data most relevant to their location. This year’s findings reveal noteworthy trends in salary increases, regional differences, and how growth trajectories impact compensation strategies.
Here are some key findings from the report:
- Varying salary increases. On average, firms raised salaries by approximately 5.9 percent. We observed significant salary increase differences in engineering roles and architecture roles. Individuals with engineering roles saw an across the board increase of 8.84 percent compared to their counterparts in architecture roles who experienced much lower increases across the board of only 1.05 percent. The most notable differences came at the associate/department manager level where those in engineering roles saw an increase of 8.43 percent and those in architecture roles actually saw a decrease of 3.85 percent.
- Regional differences. Firms in all regions of the U.S. saw fairly consistent salary trends. Firms in the Eastern region of the U.S. saw the highest increase at 5.87 percent followed by firms in the Central U.S. at 5.49 percent. Firms in the West region saw the lowest rate of increase at 4.35 percent. Employees in all departments for the Central and Eastern region firms saw salary increases across the board. The same cannot be said for firms in the West region. Roles in the “other technical” job category saw the biggest regional difference. Within that category, designers in the Central and East regions saw a salary increase of more than 10 percent whereas designers in the West region did not see a salary increase last year.
- A focus on growth. Observations from the 2025 compensation data highlight the differences in salary increases for fast-growing firms (firms that achieve an annual revenue growth rate of 20 percent or more) and all other firms. Fast-growth firms’ salaries increased by an average of 8.2 percent compared to 4.9 percent for stable firms (firms with unchanged revenue growth for three years) and 3.17 percent for slow growth (firms with 1 percent to 19 percent annual revenue growth rate). For firm leaders who have to deal with complaints that growing only means working more hours and working harder, they can point to the data that it actually leads to higher salary increases. Fast-growth firms invested in administrative and non-technical roles over top management roles. Administrative and non-technical roles saw an average increase of 12 percent whereas top management at these firms saw a salary decrease of 3.19 percent.
The updated Zweig Insights platform and the 2025 Salary Report of AEC Firms provide the most comprehensive compensation data available for the AEC industry. Compiled from a year’s worth of data gathered from hundreds of firms across the U.S., this report is an industry standard for firm leaders and HR directors aiming to benchmark their compensation strategies and ensure they remain competitive in today’s job market.
The insights from this report go beyond numbers – they offer a window into the evolving priorities and challenges within the AEC industry. As the AEC industry continues to adapt to new challenges and opportunities, having access to reliable compensation data is more critical than ever. Firms that leverage tools like Zweig Insights are better equipped to navigate the complexities of talent retention and recruitment, ensuring they remain competitive in an increasingly dynamic marketplace. To learn more or access the full report, click here.
Kyle Ahern is an employee experience and data strategist at Zweig Group. Contact him at kahern@zweiggroup.com.
