HVAC Technician Salaries and Job Growth
For HVAC technicians, it’s all about comfort.
From the sweltering summers in Florida to the frozen winters in Wisconsin, an HVAC tech’s primary responsibility is making sure people are comfortable at their home or business.
HVAC business owners, however, need to make sure their employees are comfortable. And yes, we’re talking about salary. Hiring HVAC technicians is tough, and so is retaining them. While there are tons of factors that influence whether an employee signs up with an HVAC business and stays for the long term, salary is at the top of that list.
That got us thinking—what are HVAC salaries across the United States?
We collected and analyzed thousands of HVAC job listing from Indeed.com in the entire year of 2019 to identify some key trends and insights about what HVAC employees are earning, where there are the most open positions, and other important information that’s helpful for both techs, owners, and operators.
*Note—HVAC positions include a wide range of jobs from apprentice to senior service specialist, and their salaries reflect that range.
How Much Does an HVAC Technician Make?
The average salary for HVAC employees in the U.S. is $24.57 per hour. HVAC employees come with diverse experience, expertise, business functions, and even cost of living needs. With that in mind, see below for average salary data:
HVAC salary data by state:
- Connecticut has the highest average salary at $52.93 per hour
- Idaho has the lowest average salary at $22.22 per hour
- Eight of the top ten states with the highest average salary are on the east coast
- The bottom ten states in terms of average hourly rate vary by less than $3/hour, while the top ten states have a range spanning more than $9/hour
- Iowa claims the median average salary for HVAC, coming in at $28.85/hour
Where does your state rank? Do you notice any trends?
If you’re looking to attract talented HVAC technicians to help grow your business, you might want to check out this related post: HVAC Tech Job Description: How to Hire a Field Service Technician for Your Small Business.
In order to find the national average for HVAC employees, we examined the full range of average salaries, from $8.63 all the way to $49.97 per hour, to find the weighted average of $23.86, mentioned earlier in this post.
Again, this data represents a broad mix of job titles and functions—from administrative assistant to senior HVAC tech, so the salary range reflects that as well.
But, breaking the data down by location yields further insights. Take a look!
Average HVAC Salary Range in Every State
Salary range insights at a glance:
- While Louisiana has the highest individual salary at $111.54/hr, the average salary of $27.57/hr ranks in the bottom third of the country
- Connecticut is in the top four states in terms of highest individual salary ($75/hr) and average salary ($52.93)
- Maryland has the lowest individual salary of $6.73/hr, but the second highest individual salary ($76.44/hr) in the country
- Rhode Island and Massachusetts have the highest salary floor, with the lowest paying jobs posted at over $17/hr each.
What factors do you think influence the salary range by location? Demand for services? Cost of living?
HVAC Jobs Paying More Than $55,000 Per Year
Since the national average salary for HVAC is $24.57/hour, that means many employees are earning around $50,000 annually. So where are all those good-paying jobs?
We took a look at the number of job openings per state that are paying a salary of $55,000 or more.
Data insights at a glance:
- New Hampshire has the highest percentage of high-paying jobs available, with nearly 24% of jobs paying $55,000/yr or more
- Alaska has the lowest percentage of high-paying jobs available, with 16.36% of jobs paying $55,000/yr or more
- At the time of writing, Florida has 4,791 HVAC available jobs posted on Indeed, with 19.68% of them offering more than $55,000/year
- Alaska has only 110 jobs posted, with 16.36% offering $55,000/year or more
Are you spending a lot on payroll compared to other areas of the county? You might be interested in our related blog post: HVAC Price List Template: Advice on How to Price Your HVAC Services.
The Cities with the Highest-Paid HVAC Positions in Every State
So all of the high-paying HVAC jobs will be in the largest city in each state, right? Wrong!
Interestingly, it’s not just all the major metropolitan areas of each state that offer the highest paying HVAC jobs—looking at you, Gaithersburg, MD.
Take a look at the cities with the highest average HVAC salaries in each state.
| City, State | Average Hourly Rate |
|---|---|
| Danbury, CT | $52.93 |
| Gaithersburg, MD | $49.02 |
| San Francisco, CA | $45.77 |
| Boston, MA | $43.20 |
| Edison, NJ | $42.48 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $42.45 |
| Williston, VT | $42.43 |
| Manchester, NH | $42.34 |
| Miami, FL | $41.66 |
| Anchorage, AK | $41.47 |
| New York, NY | $40.45 |
| Marietta, GA | $38.95 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $37.92 |
| Warwick, RI | $36.93 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $36.85 |
| Providence, RI | $36.85 |
| Littleton, CO | $35.92 |
| Minot, ND/Williston, ND (Tie) | $35.00 |
| Wilmington, DE | $33.84 |
| Lafayette, IN | $33.10 |
| Lenexa, KS | $32.97 |
| Waukesha, WI | $32.63 |
| Billings, MT | $30.94 |
| Durham, NC | $30.71 |
| Morgantown, WV | $30.11 |
| Arlington, VA | $29.92 |
| Sioux City, IA | $28.85 |
| Saint George, UT | $28.78 |
| Hillsboro, OR | $28.74 |
| Montgomery, AL | $28.48 |
| Broken Arrow, OK | $28.30 |
| Seattle, WA | $28.24 |
| Grand Island, NE | $28.17 |
| Chicago, IL | $27.86 |
| New Orleans, LA | $27.57 |
| Charleston, SC | $27.49 |
| Saint Paul, MN | $26.43 |
| Scottsdale, AZ | $26.33 |
| Reno, NV | $25.72 |
| Sheridan, WY | $25.70 |
| Santa Fe, NM | $25.45 |
| Oahu Island, HI | $25.31 |
| Chesterfield, MO | $25.00 |
| Rapid City, SD | $24.96 |
| Bentonville, AR | $24.73 |
| Franklin, TN | $24.46 |
| Lexington, KY | $23.89 |
| Biloxi, MS | $23.82 |
| Westbrook, ME | $23.78 |
| Portland, ME | $19.61 |
| Austin, TX | $22.58 |
| Idaho Falls, ID | $22.22 |
Data insights at a glance:
- Danbury, CT has the highest average salary for HVAC jobs
- Idaho Falls, ID has the lowest average salary for HVAC jobs
- While major metropolitan cities like Boston, San Francisco, and Philadephia all rank in the top ten, so does Anchorage, AK
- Lexington, KY ranks at the bottom of average salary, yet the state of Kentucky ranks in the top two in the highest percentage of available jobs offering $55,000/year or more
While the major cities seem to command generally higher rates, there is plenty of opportunity in small cities to earn a great wage.
Guide to HVAC Salaries in the United States
Wages are a huge part of the profitability of an HVAC business. They’re essential to the pricing, deliverability, and marketing efforts of the business. Wages are also crucial to the employee side in terms of talent acquisition, retention, and overall job satisfaction.
Finding the middle ground is a tightrope walk for HVAC owners and managers, and we hope that this HVAC salary data on the national scale helps put things into perspective.
Wages, of course, are just one of the tough challenges HVAC business owners need to tackle. They have to deal with invoicing, dispatch, marketing, and payment process—just to name a few. Housecall Pro is the premier solution to help grow your business, create operational efficiency, and create loyal customers.
Next Steps: How to hire HVAC technicians
Now that you know the lay of the land regarding salary across the country, are you ready to grow your HVAC business?
Check out The Complete Guide To The Perfect HVAC Job Description.
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