Electronics engineers, except computer job market in California

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

Industry employment fell while average weekly industry wages rose

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Electronics engineers, except computer in California.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 100% · BLS QCEWCitationEvidence record

Occupation pay

What Electronics engineers, except computer earn in California

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$160,520California
Middle 50% of published wages
$125,040 – $202,730
U.S. median annual wage
$130,220
Reference period
May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around California

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Electronics engineers, except computer, compared with the California median of $160,520.

California median$160,520
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$194,370+21.1% vs. state
Middle 50%$155,980 – $221,460Published employment5,970
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$182,840+13.9% vs. state
Middle 50%$126,930 – $204,230Published employment30
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$172,290+7.3% vs. state
Middle 50%$126,090 – $195,490Published employment290
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$162,440+1.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$130,000 – $204,130Published employment2,000
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$156,480−2.5% vs. state
Middle 50%$125,980 – $178,500Published employment3,450
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA$147,180−8.3% vs. state
Middle 50%$126,150 – $159,700Published employment830
View 9 more published metro areas
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$142,460−11.3% vs. state
Middle 50%$118,790 – $171,550Published employment900
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$140,530−12.5% vs. state
Middle 50%$115,460 – $179,730Published employment4,880
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$135,810−15.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$114,750 – $181,000Published employment160
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA$130,940−18.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$103,930 – $158,910Published employment580
Vallejo, CA$129,850−19.1% vs. state
Middle 50%$103,010 – $154,170Published employment30
Bakersfield-Delano, CA$127,340−20.7% vs. state
Middle 50%$110,070 – $159,700Published employment580
Modesto, CA$107,960−32.7% vs. state
Middle 50%$107,960 – $117,380Published employment40
Fresno, CA$106,290−33.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$106,290 – $136,110Published employment100
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA$104,570−34.9% vs. state
Middle 50%$86,860 – $131,790Published employment50

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the California median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in California’s weighted industry mix.

-1.7%Industry employmentCalifornia industry employmentU.S. -1.9%vs. -1.9% U.S.
+2.0%Establishments in weighted industriesCalifornia establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +1.6%vs. +1.6% U.S.
+6.7%Avg. weekly industry wageCalifornia avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +5.2% · not occupation payvs. +5.2% U.S. · not occupation pay
+0.2 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 337,721 represented establishments, 92.43% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for electronics engineers, except computer in California

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

This occupation is more concentrated in the state

OEWS May 2025 places California's share of employment in electronics engineers, except computer at 1.84 times the corresponding national share. The published location quotient expresses that comparison. The state estimate is 20,830 jobs, 21.5% of the national employment estimate for this occupation. It represents 1.14 jobs per thousand jobs in the state's OEWS employment universe. Employment concentration does not establish future growth; it describes employment share, not current hiring.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

OEWS employment estimates describe covered wage-and-salary jobs and exclude self-employed workers; location quotients do not measure vacancies or worker demand.

Published median pay is above the U.S. median

A 23.3% difference separates California's median annual wage for electronics engineers, except computer from the U.S. median in OEWS May 2025. At $160,520, the state median is above the national figure of $130,220. The estimates describe the middle of each wage distribution, without a living-cost adjustment.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Industry groups are pulling in opposite directions

The leading industry groups for this occupation show a split in California. In January to March 2026, Information employment changed +1.1% year over year, while Manufacturing changed -2.8%. Together, the groups examined cover 97.3% of the occupation's national industry mix. The overall industry measure combines these opposing movements.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Pay differs widely between metro areas

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA define the low and high ends of this published median-pay comparison for California. Their estimates are $104,570 and $194,370, respectively, in OEWS May 2025; the high end is 85.9% higher. The comparison includes 15 metro areas on the same wage basis and does not measure living costs or job availability.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Metro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.

Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values
  • California · 2026 Q1-1.7%
  • U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark-1.9%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value
Quarterly California industry employment changes and coverage
QuarterCaliforniaCoverage
2024 Q2-2.6%100%
2024 Q3-2.0%100%
2024 Q4-2.1%100%
2025 Q1-2.0%100%
2025 Q2-1.9%100%
2025 Q3-2.0%100%
2025 Q4-2.1%100%
2026 Q1-1.7%100%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows California’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters
8
Earliest quarter
2024 Q2
Latest quarter
2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark
-1.9%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Electronics engineers, except computer Work

The occupation mix determines which California industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the California Electronics engineers, except computer context
Industry groupOccupation mixEmployment changeEstablishmentsAvg. weekly industry wage
Manufacturing35.5%-2.8%44,316$2,955
Professional and business services26.9%+0.4%259,522$2,887
Information15.2%+1.1%30,491$6,978
Federal14.7%-6.7%3,392$2,366
Trade, transportation, and utilities4.2%-1.8%212,820$1,450
Construction0.8%-1.7%99,318$1,801

Which industries are growing?

2 weighted industries are growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive California employment change are listed.

  • Information+1.1%
  • Professional and business services+0.4%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current California context

Current California Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in California. They are not Electronics engineers, except computer demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · California

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

86.5Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026
-13.5%Versus the February 2020 baseline
0.0%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index
Indeed postings index
Observation dateIndex (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 202685.61
Jul 31, 202685.81
Aug 7, 202685.07
Aug 14, 202685.18
Aug 21, 202685.00
Aug 28, 202684.96
Sep 4, 202685.33
Sep 11, 202686.03
Sep 18, 202686.72
Sep 25, 202686.52
Oct 2, 202686.28
Oct 9, 202686.26
Oct 16, 202686.29
Oct 23, 202686.51

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Statewide layoff notices

Statewide WARN notices

California statewide

313 notices in this source

Notice dates from Aug 5, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.

What this means: This is the number of WARN notices with notice dates in this period in California’s official statewide list. It is a statewide count only, and does not identify any employer.

Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. WARN covers qualifying large layoffs and closures under applicable law, not all layoffs, and thresholds vary by state.

California Employment Development Department About WARN data

Source last checked

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Electronics engineers, except computer in California FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Electronics engineers, except computer in California?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the California industries weighted to Electronics engineers, except computer changed -1.7% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with -1.9% nationwide.

Are wages for Electronics engineers, except computer rising in California?

QCEW does not publish pay for Electronics engineers, except computer in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +6.7% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this California industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Electronics engineers, except computer openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation
Electronics engineers, except computer
SOC code
17-2072
State
California
QCEW release label
QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period
2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year
-1.7%State data coverage 100%
U.S. benchmark, year over year
-1.9%
Difference from U.S. benchmark
+0.2 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year
+2.0%State data coverage 100%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year
+6.7%State data coverage 100%
Industry mix vintage
EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date
Aug 28, 2026
Source verification
Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL
https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/electronics-engineers-except-computer/california#evidence-record
Derived by
JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.

Electronics engineers, except computer in other states