Civil Engineer Salary in Missouri (2026)

Worth knowing: Burns & McDonnell is the structural feature most national civil engineering-career surveys understate. Founded in Kansas City in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is consistently ranked among the top 5 US engineering firms by revenue (~$5.5B annual revenue, ~14,000 employees globally, ~50 offices). The firm operates as a 100% employee-owned ESOP — among the largest ESOP firms in the country, with senior staff routinely accumulating substantial deferred-equity wealth over 20-year careers. HNTB Corporation (also Kansas City HQ, ~8,000 employees) is one of the country's largest infrastructure + transportation engineering firms, with substantial MoDOT + KCMO + STL public-works contract portfolios. Black & Veatch (Overland Park KS, KC metro, ~10,000 employees, also ESOP) specializes in water + power + telecom infrastructure. Together these three KC-metro engineering firms employ roughly 30,000+ engineers — making KC one of the country's largest concentrations of senior engineering ESOP wealth-building outside coastal markets. The 1% city earnings tax in Kansas City applies to non-resident engineer wages earned within city limits; HNTB downtown Kansas City employees pay 1% additional, while Burns & McDonnell HQ (Kansas City MO, technically within city limits at 9400 Ward Parkway) also pays the 1% — confirming MO senior engineer combined rate near 5.95%. Black & Veatch in Overland Park KS avoids the MO tax entirely (Kansas residency at 5.7% top rate but no MO city tax).