HVAC Technician Pay by State and Metro Area
Official BLS wages for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021), May 2025.
Look up HVAC technician pay
United States
$61,010 median per year
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $19.25 | $40,050 |
| 25th | $23.25 | $48,360 |
| Median (50th) | $29.33 | $61,010 |
| 75th | $37.05 | $77,060 |
| 90th | $45.78 | $95,210 |
| Mean | $31.14 | $64,780 |
Median for all occupations in this area: $50,980 a year. The HVAC median is 19.7% higher.
Employment: 409,670 (wage and salary jobs; excludes the self-employed).
Data as of May 2025: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, released May 15, 2026.
HVAC technicians install, maintain, and repair heating, cooling, and refrigeration systems. This page shows what they earn where you live, using the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pick a state to see wage percentiles for the whole state, or pick a metro or nonmetro area for a local view. Enter your own hourly or yearly pay to see where it falls. Below the lookup, the apprentice planner adds up what your apprenticeship pays year by year and compares it with a journey-level wage for your area.
Apprentice to journeyman earnings planner
Uses your program's wage schedule and the BLS wage for the area chosen above. Nothing is estimated for you.
Worked example: hourly and yearly pay
BLS turns hourly rates into yearly pay with a 2,080-hour work year. The table puts the published hourly median next to that multiplication and the published annual median. They can differ by a few dollars, so the tool always shows the published annual figure instead of recomputing it. Monthly pay is the published annual median divided by 12.
| Area | Hourly median | Hourly x 2,080 | Published annual | Annual / 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $29.33 | $61,006.40 | $61,010 | $5,084.17 |
| California | $34.88 | $72,550.40 | $72,560 | $6,046.67 |
| Texas | $27.77 | $57,761.60 | $57,760 | $4,813.33 |
| Florida | $27.24 | $56,659.20 | $56,670 | $4,722.50 |
| New York | $35.78 | $74,422.40 | $74,430 | $6,202.50 |
How it works
- Wage figures: each number is a cell of the official OEWS May 2025 files for SOC 49-9021: wage percentiles (10th, 25th, median, 75th, 90th), the mean, and employment. Nothing is adjusted or projected.
- Yearly from hourly: annual pay = hourly pay x 2,080. BLS says the annual rate "is calculated by multiplying the hourly wage rate by a typical work year of 2,080 hours" (OEWS technical notes). Your own hourly pay is converted the same way.
- Where your pay falls: your hourly pay is compared with the hourly percentiles, or your yearly pay with the yearly ones. The tool names the two percentiles it falls between and does not interpolate.
- Planner: earnings for each apprentice year = your hourly pay x your paid hours. Percent of benchmark = your hourly pay / the BLS hourly wage you picked x 100. If you enter percentages, hourly pay = percent x the benchmark / 100.
- What the wages leave out: OEWS wages are "straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay," so overtime is not included, and the survey does not include the self-employed.
Highest and lowest paying states and metro areas
Highest median annual wages, May 2025: District of Columbia ($84,390), Alaska ($77,430), Illinois ($77,410), Massachusetts ($77,300), Connecticut ($76,610). Lowest: Arkansas ($48,110), Alabama ($48,370), Mississippi ($48,680), West Virginia ($48,850), New Mexico ($50,270). Nationally the HVAC median is 19.7% higher than the median for all occupations ($50,980).
Metro areas with the highest median annual wage for HVAC technicians:
- Fairbanks-College, AK: $93,820 median, 90 jobs
- Anchorage, AK: $85,620 median, 330 jobs
- Napa, CA: $84,570 median, 70 jobs
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $82,050 median, 1,740 jobs
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $80,100 median, 3,940 jobs
Florida has the most HVAC technician jobs (39,160), followed by California (35,130) and Texas (34,730).
Frequently asked questions
How much does an HVAC technician make?
The national median wage for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers was $29.33 an hour, or $61,010 a year, in May 2025. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $40,050 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $95,210 (BLS).
What is the HVAC technician salary by state?
Median annual wages in May 2025 ranged from $48,110 in Arkansas to $84,390 in the District of Columbia. Pick a state in the tool above, or see every state on the HVAC technician salary by state table.
How do you become an HVAC technician?
BLS says HVAC technicians typically need postsecondary instruction from technical and trade schools or community colleges, in programs that generally last from 6 months to 2 years. Some train through an apprenticeship, which usually lasts several years. BLS adds that the EPA requires nearly all HVAC technicians to be certified in refrigerant handling, and that some states and localities require a license.
Do HVAC technicians need EPA 608 certification?
BLS says the EPA requires nearly all HVAC technicians to be certified in proper refrigerant handling. Technicians must pass an EPA-approved test, and Section 608 credentials do not expire. Use the EPA 608 type checker to see which type fits your work.
Do you need a license to be an HVAC technician?
It depends on where you work. BLS notes that some states and localities require HVAC technicians to be licensed. The HVAC license by state page quotes official state board pages and marks the states we could not verify.
What is the job outlook for HVAC technicians?
BLS projects employment to grow 11 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 40,600 openings each year on average. See the job outlook page.
How much does an HVAC apprentice make?
There is no single apprentice wage: each registered program sets its own schedule. Federal apprenticeship rules (29 CFR 29.5) require a progressively increasing wage schedule, and the entry wage must not be less than the federal minimum wage where it applies ($7.25 an hour). Enter your program's schedule in the planner above to add it up.
More HVAC tools
- Salary by state table
Sortable table of every state and DC with a two-state comparison. - EPA 608 certification checker
Find the Section 608 type you need from the EPA rule text. - HVAC license by state
Official licensing board quotes by state, with unverified states marked. - Room AC BTU calculator
Room size to BTU per hour with the ENERGY STAR chart and adjustments. - SEER2 savings calculator
DOE minimum SEER2 by region and yearly cooling cost at your price. - Job outlook 2025 to 2035
BLS projections, openings per year, and HVAC jobs in each state.
Sources
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers. Read from an Internet Archive copy dated September 30, 2026 because the agency site blocks automated access.
- BLS: Technical Notes for May 2025 OEWS Estimates. Read from an Internet Archive copy dated September 24, 2026 because the agency site blocks automated access.
- BLS news release: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025. Read from an Internet Archive copy dated October 2, 2026 because the agency site blocks automated access.
- EPA: Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements.
- eCFR: 29 CFR 29.5, Standards of apprenticeship.
- U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wage. Read from an Internet Archive copy dated October 4, 2026 because the agency site blocks automated access.
- BLS OEWS May 2025 state data file (oesm25st.zip).
- BLS OEWS May 2025 national data file (oesm25nat.zip).
- BLS OEWS May 2025 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area data file (oesm25ma.zip).