Develop methods to extract oil and gas from below the Earth's surface. Median salary in Brownsville: $134K/year. Data from BLS, O*NET, and H-1B disclosures.
Figures represent annual base salary in Brownsville, Texas. Reviewed by SalaryOptics Editorial · How we calculate this →
Analysis derived from the salary, COL, tax, and labor-market figures above — specific to this role and city.
Petroleum Engineers in Brownsville earn approximately 8% lower than the US national median for this role — a $11,000 discount on annual base salary. Brownsville's lower wage level partially reflects the area's cost-of-living index of 75 (US avg = 100).
Adjusted for Brownsville's cost-of-living index (75), the median Petroleum Engineer salary buys the equivalent of $178,667 in a US-average-cost city. That's $33,667 more purchasing power than the national median — a meaningful real-wage advantage.
Texas has no state income tax, which is worth roughly $12,462 per year at this salary level compared to a California Petroleum Engineer on the same gross pay. A Brownsville Petroleum Engineer would need to earn $147,740 in California to net the same take-home.
Based on BLS 2022–2032 Employment Projections and WEF Future of Jobs Report 2026. At current growth rates, median salary reaches $141K by 2030.
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The median Petroleum Engineer salary in Brownsville, TX is $134,000 per year as of Q1 2026. This figure represents the midpoint of all reported compensation for this role in the Brownsville–TX metropolitan area, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, H-1B visa disclosures from the Department of Labor, and O*NET occupational data.
Entry-level Petroleum Engineers in Brownsville with 0–2 years of experience typically earn between $101,000 and $134,000 annually. Mid-career professionals with 3–7 years command $134,000 to $173,000, while senior-level practitioners with 8+ years of experience regularly earn $173,000 to $221,000 or more.
Brownsville has a cost of living index of 75 compared to the US national average of 100. This means your salary goes approximately 25% further in Brownsville than the national average. Crucially, Texas has no state income tax — giving Brownsville-based Petroleum Engineers an immediate 5–7% take-home pay advantage over workers in states like California (9.3%) or New York (6.85%).
Bachelor's in Petroleum Engineering. 15% of these roles offer some remote flexibility.