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Ship Engineers pay in New Orleans-Metairie, LA and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Ship Engineers is $132,710 per year in New Orleans-Metairie, LA. It is $88,800 per year in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA. New Orleans-Metairie, LA is 49.4% above Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 53-5031 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 230 wage and salary jobs in New Orleans-Metairie, LA and 50 in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.