Sales Engineers Salary — Santa Maria, California

The average Sales Engineers in Santa Maria, California earns $146,280 a year.

$146,280 / year, mean
↑ 9.6% above national average 75th percentile in California

Santa Maria pays well above most of California for this role, landing in the top third statewide. That's a solid premium over the national average for sales engineers. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within California

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
40
Estimate confidence
RSE 4.8%
Cost of living 109 #14 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2124 #140 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $1,005,339 #4 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $95,977 #18 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Santa Maria ranks #14 for cost of living and #4 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $180,170 Ocala $176,450 San Luis Obispo $172,040 Sarasota $167,860 San Francisco $154,650 New York $151,480 Seattle $150,020 Tampa $149,260 Santa Maria $146,280 Austin $145,670 Portland $142,940 Sacramento $140,470 Miami $139,910 Palm Bay $139,490 Midland $137,660 Dallas $137,550 Tallahassee $135,470 Bakersfield $133,280 Pensacola $132,890 Trenton $132,870 Killeen $132,150 Baltimore $132,110 Odessa $131,730 Houston $131,070 Jacksonville $130,920 Kiryas Joel $129,810 San Antonio $129,620 Detroit $128,320 Oxnard $127,420 San Diego $127,090 Ann Arbor $126,320 Los Angeles $125,150 Spokane $123,750 Lansing $123,450 Beaumont $122,740 Santa Rosa $121,840 Richmond $120,280 Chambersburg $118,420 Albany $117,640 Riverside $116,210 Roanoke $116,090 Grand Rapids $115,860 Saginaw $115,710 Orlando $115,320 Lexington $114,200 Chicago $113,830 Crestview $113,730 Kalamazoo $113,050 Philadelphia $112,600 Rochester $112,520 Fresno $111,350 Buffalo $110,780 Syracuse $110,080 Fort Myers $109,590 Lancaster $108,370 Binghamton $105,810 El Paso $105,460 Pittsburgh $104,820 Indianapolis $104,290 Lynchburg $104,240 Harrisburg $104,040 Lubbock $103,330 Traverse City $99,350 Louisville $98,300 Reading $98,280 York $97,760 Allentown $97,750 Scranton $97,600 Utica $94,170 Erie $88,190 Rockford $83,420
CityMean salaryvs. Santa Maria
Albany, New York$117,640-19.6%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$97,750-33.2%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$126,320-13.6%
Austin, Texas$145,670-0.4%
Bakersfield, California$133,280-8.9%
Baltimore, Maryland$132,110-9.7%
Beaumont, Texas$122,740-16.1%
Binghamton, New York$105,810-27.7%
Buffalo, New York$110,780-24.3%
Fort Myers, Florida$109,590-25.1%
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania$118,420-19.0%
Chicago, Illinois$113,830-22.2%
Crestview, Florida$113,730-22.3%
Dallas, Texas$137,550-6.0%
Detroit, Michigan$128,320-12.3%
El Paso, Texas$105,460-27.9%
Erie, Pennsylvania$88,190-39.7%
Fresno, California$111,350-23.9%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$115,860-20.8%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$104,040-28.9%
Houston, Texas$131,070-10.4%
Indianapolis, Indiana$104,290-28.7%
Jacksonville, Florida$130,920-10.5%
Kalamazoo, Michigan$113,050-22.7%
Killeen, Texas$132,150-9.7%
Kiryas Joel, New York$129,810-11.3%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$108,370-25.9%
Lansing, Michigan$123,450-15.6%
Lexington, Kentucky$114,200-21.9%
Los Angeles, California$125,150-14.4%
Louisville, Kentucky$98,300-32.8%
Lubbock, Texas$103,330-29.4%
Lynchburg, Virginia$104,240-28.7%
Miami, Florida$139,910-4.4%
Midland, Texas$137,660-5.9%
New York, New York$151,480+3.6%
Sarasota, Florida$167,860+14.8%
Ocala, Florida$176,450+20.6%
Odessa, Texas$131,730-9.9%
Orlando, Florida$115,320-21.2%
Oxnard, California$127,420-12.9%
Palm Bay, Florida$139,490-4.6%
Pensacola, Florida$132,890-9.2%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$112,600-23.0%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$104,820-28.3%
Portland, Oregon$142,940-2.3%
Reading, Pennsylvania$98,280-32.8%
Richmond, Virginia$120,280-17.8%
Riverside, California$116,210-20.6%
Roanoke, Virginia$116,090-20.6%
Rochester, New York$112,520-23.1%
Rockford, Illinois$83,420-43.0%
Sacramento, California$140,470-4.0%
Saginaw, Michigan$115,710-20.9%
San Antonio, Texas$129,620-11.4%
San Diego, California$127,090-13.1%
San Francisco, California$154,650+5.7%
San Jose, California$180,170+23.2%
San Luis Obispo, California$172,040+17.6%
Santa Rosa, California$121,840-16.7%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$97,600-33.3%
Seattle, Washington$150,020+2.6%
Spokane, Washington$123,750-15.4%
Syracuse, New York$110,080-24.7%
Tallahassee, Florida$135,470-7.4%
Tampa, Florida$149,260+2.0%
Traverse City, Michigan$99,350-32.1%
Trenton, New Jersey$132,870-9.2%
Utica, New York$94,170-35.6%
York, Pennsylvania$97,760-33.2%
Gross salary
146,280/yr
Estimated take-home
101,736/yr
Est. total withheld
30.5%

Single filer, federal + California state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Sales Engineers salaries in California → All Sales Engineers salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for Santa Maria

These notes add local color around Santa Maria, California: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 41-9031 SOC code
Official area Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 42200 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ca_ftb_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
Santa Barbara
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: California

Population (metro area)
443,975