HVAC Technician Pay by State (2026): BLS Wage Data
HVAC tech pay for all 50 states and DC from the latest BLS data (May 2025): median hourly and annual pay, the 10th-90th percentile range, and job counts.
If you're setting pay for a new hire or wondering whether your best tech is underpaid, "what do techs make around here?" is the first question. The most reliable public answer is the federal government's own wage survey. Below is every state's number for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers (occupation code 49-9021), followed by how to turn it into pay bands for your shop.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 estimates — the newest release available as of this guide — for occupation 49-9021, pulled directly from the BLS public data API (state series OEUS…499021 and national series OEUN…499021). Nationally, BLS counts 409,670 people employed in this occupation, with a median of $29.33/hour ($61,010/year), a 10th percentile of $40,050/year, and a 90th percentile of $95,210/year. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, "Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers" (49-9021), May 2025
A few things to know before you read the table:
- Employment is BLS's estimate of wage-and-salary jobs in that state, rounded. Owners and other self-employed techs are not counted.
- Median means half of techs in the state earn more and half earn less.
- The 10th percentile is roughly where green, entry-level pay sits; the 90th percentile is where the top 1 in 10 earners sit.
- BLS annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours (a full-time year). They include base pay, commissions, and production/spiff-type incentive pay, but not overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses, or benefits. A tech who works a lot of summer overtime can take home noticeably more than these numbers show.
HVAC technician pay by state (BLS, May 2025)
| State | Employment | Median hourly | Median annual | 10th pct annual | 90th pct annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | 1,730 | $29.96 | $62,320 | $45,000 | $97,600 |
| District of Columbia | 400 | $40.57 | $84,390 | $49,940 | $108,240 |
| Florida | 39,160 | $27.24 | $56,670 | $38,370 | $78,210 |
| Georgia | 12,290 | $27.11 | $56,390 | $36,990 | $79,130 |
| Hawaii | 1,300 | $31.47 | $65,450 | $43,120 | $99,430 |
| Idaho | 4,550 | $27.04 | $56,240 | $38,660 | $80,780 |
| Illinois | 9,740 | $37.21 | $77,410 | $46,690 | $117,550 |
| Indiana | 8,530 | $29.05 | $60,430 | $40,460 | $97,800 |
| Iowa | 3,840 | $29.17 | $60,680 | $43,040 | $86,280 |
| Kansas | 3,770 | $29.07 | $60,460 | $43,660 | $83,500 |
| Kentucky | 5,100 | $28.18 | $58,620 | $38,790 | $80,020 |
| Louisiana | 5,380 | $28.20 | $58,650 | $36,950 | $78,210 |
| Maine | 2,250 | $30.37 | $63,170 | $47,090 | $82,090 |
| Maryland | 8,560 | $33.67 | $70,020 | $46,180 | $106,740 |
| Massachusetts | 8,200 | $37.16 | $77,300 | $50,820 | $102,410 |
| Michigan | 12,590 | $29.26 | $60,850 | $40,210 | $95,290 |
| Minnesota | 4,200 | $36.71 | $76,350 | $48,220 | $100,030 |
| Mississippi | 2,700 | $23.41 | $48,680 | $36,160 | $76,240 |
| Missouri | 7,220 | $28.82 | $59,950 | $39,180 | $88,760 |
| Montana | 1,230 | $29.26 | $60,850 | $41,900 | $81,230 |
| Nebraska | 3,020 | $28.77 | $59,850 | $43,540 | $81,110 |
| Nevada | 4,170 | $29.09 | $60,510 | $41,040 | $89,750 |
| New Hampshire | 2,560 | $35.51 | $73,850 | $47,520 | $97,140 |
| New Jersey | 10,330 | $35.79 | $74,450 | $48,020 | $116,550 |
| New Mexico | 1,950 | $24.17 | $50,270 | $37,380 | $75,770 |
| New York | 24,430 | $35.78 | $74,430 | $48,560 | $100,680 |
| North Carolina | 15,230 | $27.53 | $57,260 | $37,780 | $77,160 |
| North Dakota | 970 | $35.81 | $74,490 | $46,610 | $94,060 |
| Ohio | 14,150 | $30.06 | $62,510 | $38,630 | $98,310 |
| Oklahoma | 5,650 | $27.67 | $57,560 | $36,050 | $79,660 |
| Oregon | 3,980 | $30.26 | $62,940 | $46,990 | $94,520 |
| Pennsylvania | 15,880 | $30.00 | $62,400 | $45,970 | $89,440 |
| Rhode Island | 1,450 | $32.39 | $67,370 | $38,100 | $104,080 |
| South Carolina | 6,920 | $27.22 | $56,610 | $39,170 | $75,530 |
| South Dakota | 1,610 | $29.51 | $61,390 | $48,420 | $75,190 |
| Tennessee | 9,740 | $26.68 | $55,490 | $38,540 | $81,590 |
| Texas | 34,730 | $27.77 | $57,760 | $38,100 | $81,860 |
| Utah | 5,580 | $28.24 | $58,730 | $37,570 | $80,500 |
| Vermont | 970 | $29.88 | $62,150 | $50,280 | $93,110 |
| Virginia | 14,690 | $28.72 | $59,730 | $39,760 | $83,420 |
| Washington | 7,370 | $36.38 | $75,660 | $48,810 | $120,360 |
| West Virginia | 1,690 | $23.49 | $48,850 | $36,160 | $72,640 |
| Wisconsin | 6,630 | $29.67 | $61,710 | $45,930 | $98,070 |
| Wyoming | 690 | $26.30 | $54,700 | $37,840 | $79,050 |
| Alabama | 8,260 | $23.26 | $48,370 | $36,510 | $65,690 |
| Alaska | 610 | $37.23 | $77,430 | $48,580 | $105,140 |
| Arizona | 10,860 | $28.56 | $59,400 | $37,950 | $80,160 |
| Arkansas | 4,960 | $23.13 | $48,110 | $37,040 | $69,290 |
| California | 35,130 | $34.88 | $72,560 | $46,950 | $109,060 |
| Colorado | 8,940 | $31.35 | $65,200 | $48,220 | $103,640 |
| Connecticut | 3,800 | $36.83 | $76,610 | $45,280 | $100,160 |
What stands out
- Highest state medians: District of Columbia ($84,390), Alaska ($77,430), Illinois ($77,410), Massachusetts ($77,300), Connecticut ($76,610), and Minnesota ($76,350).
- Lowest state medians: Arkansas ($48,110), Alabama ($48,370), Mississippi ($48,680), West Virginia ($48,850), and New Mexico ($50,270).
- Most HVAC tech jobs: Florida (39,160), California (35,130), Texas (34,730), New York (24,430), and Pennsylvania (15,880). Big states mean big applicant pools — and a lot of shops competing for the same people.
- The gap between entry and top pay is wide everywhere. In most states the 90th percentile is roughly double the 10th. That spread is the room you have to reward skill, licenses, and results — or to lose people to the shop down the road that does.
How to use this table to set pay bands
A state median is a starting point, not a pay plan. Here's a simple way to turn it into bands you can defend to a tech (and to your own P&L):
- Find your state's row. Note the 10th percentile, median, and 90th percentile. Divide any annual number by 2,080 to get the hourly equivalent.
- Set three or four levels, not one number. For example: apprentice/helper near the 10th percentile; a licensed service tech who runs calls alone around the median; a lead or senior tech (EPA cert, clean callback record, can train others) between the median and the 90th percentile. Using the national figures, that's about $19.25/hr at the bottom, $29.33/hr in the middle, and up to about $45.77/hr at the top.
- Write down what moves someone up a level. Specific certs, callback rate, tickets run without help, training a helper. Techs stay longer when they can see the path to the next raise instead of having to threaten to quit to get one.
- Check that the price list can carry the pay. Every dollar of tech pay has to be covered by what you charge per billable hour, after drive time, payroll taxes, and overhead. Run your bands through the free HVAC break-even hourly rate calculator before you promise anything.
- Compare the raise to the cost of losing the tech. A few dollars an hour for your best tech is often far cheaper than replacing them. The free HVAC technician turnover cost calculator puts a dollar figure on a departure using your own numbers.
Cost-of-living caveat
State numbers blend big metros with small towns. A state median can sit well below what techs earn in its largest metro area and well above what they earn in rural counties — so if you hire in a big city, expect to pay above your state's median, and if you're rural, your market may run below it. BLS publishes the same OEWS survey for individual metro areas, which is a better match if you hire mostly in one city.
Also keep in mind that a higher paycheck in an expensive state doesn't always mean more buying power. Housing and living costs vary a lot from state to state, and techs weigh that too. When you're recruiting someone from out of state, compare what the pay actually buys in both places, not just the headline number. And remember what the table leaves out: overtime, on-call pay, truck take-home, tools, health insurance, and retirement match all count toward whether a tech stays.
Keep going
- For what it really costs when a tech quits, and a simple raise-vs-replace rule, read HVAC Tech Turnover Cost 2026: Raise or Replace?.
- For where to find techs, how to interview them, and how to keep them past year one, read How to Hire and Keep HVAC Technicians in 2026.
- The turnover cost calculator and break-even hourly rate calculator are free and don't need an email.
Beyond the state median
A state median can't tell you what techs at shops like yours actually earn. The anonymous Owner Numbers survey asks about tech pay and shows how your shop compares.