Cost Estimators
SOC 13-1051 · 2024-2034
Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -3.1%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $86,894per year
- Projected openings
- 20,470
- Projected change
- -3.1%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Mathematics
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Judgment and Decision Making
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $107,986 | 890 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $104,144 | 1,740 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $99,807 | 1,430 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $96,381 | 140 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $95,947 | 120 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $92,392 | 450 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $89,723 | 200 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $86,311 | 1,680 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $86,169 | 2,300 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $85,690 | 120 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $85,048 | 110 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $84,588 | 2,290 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $82,726 | 110 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $81,507 | 3,760 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $81,443 | 150 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $81,280 | 390 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $80,567 | 190 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $80,210 | 460 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $80,098 | 190 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $80,006 | 60 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $79,049 | 2,210 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $78,866 | 770 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $77,042 | 510 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $77,022 | 260 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $75,963 | 190 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $75,555 | 80 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $75,005 | 120 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $74,150 | 90 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $74,150 | 250 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $67,295 | 40 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $64,596 | 30 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $52,618
- A quarter earn under
- $66,792
- Half earn under
- $86,894
- Three quarters earn under
- $120,041
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $153,320
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians | $85,827 | 6,450 | +4.1% |
| Construction Managers | $135,394 | 47,800 | +10.9% |
| Industrial Engineers | $128,088 | 24,010 | +11.9% |
| Logisticians | $94,448 | 38,460 | +19.5% |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $213,808 | 20,870 | +5% |
| Civil Engineers | $125,929 | 38,210 | +8.2% |
Programs that train for this job — 8
Business - General Business Certificate of Achievement
Cabrillo College · Aptos · $3,130
General Contractor
Learnet Academy, Inc. · Los Angeles · $3,600
CAD Technology Certificate - Online
Virtual Design & Construction Institute · San Diego · $5,470
CAD/BIM Technology Certificate - Online
Virtual Design & Construction Institute · San Diego · $7,750
BIM Technology Certificate - Online
Virtual Design & Construction Institute · San Diego · $5,660
Professional Certificate in Construction Practices Online
SDSU Global Campus · San Diego · $5,976
Professional Certificate in Construction Estimating Online
SDSU Global Campus · San Diego · $3,735
CSL100: Contractor's State License - Law & Trade Test Review
College of Instrument Technology · Bellflower · $9,999