Hiring a petroleum engineer in Anchorage, AK

Employers in the Anchorage, AK area pay petroleum engineers a median of $212,240, with the middle half of the market between $174,050 and $219,480. Anchorage residents working in architecture and engineering occupations report a median of $108,772, which is 49% below what the metro pays for this role.

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What does a petroleum engineer earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Anchorage, AK area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$174,050
Median	$212,240
75th percentile	$219,480

Half of petroleum engineers in this area earn between $174,050 and $219,480. A band set below $174,050 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Anchorage residents earn

$108,772

Median earnings of Anchorage residents working in architecture and engineering occupations, 4,026 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 49% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Anchorage rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
Assist engineering and other personnel to solve operating problems.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 17-2171.

Tools and technologies in demand

Autodesk AutoCAD, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint, C#, C++, Eclipse IDE, Google Analytics.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Anchorage?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 37.7% of Anchorage adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Anchorage commute runs 19 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 9.6% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $42,448 to $63,672 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.