2026 Edition · An annual reference on what work pays

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers

United States. Estimated employment 409,670, with pages for 23 metro areas below.

Data released May 2025 BLS OEWS · SOC 49-9021
Fig. 1 — The wage rule

Where you sit in the distribution

Drag the marker, or type a figure
$61,010 · 50th
$40,05010th
$48,36025th
$61,01050th
$77,06075th
$95,21090th

That is the medianhalf of people in this occupation in the US earn more.

Table 1 — By metro area

Where it pays

Every published Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers page, by median pay. Employment is the BLS estimate for the metro.

Metro areaMedianEmployment
San Jose, CA$82,0501,740
Santa Rosa, CA$79,510560
Santa Maria, CA$78,640260
San Francisco, CA$78,4903,980
Santa Cruz, CA$78,330210
New York, NY$77,99021,820
Stockton, CA$75,710390
El Centro, CA$75,220120
Los Angeles, CA$73,83010,720
Syracuse, NY$66,600970
Albany, NY$66,0401,450
Kiryas Joel, NY$65,5301,150
Ithaca, NY$64,690120
Rochester, NY$63,5701,850
Watertown, NY$62,850130
Austin, TX$60,8203,140
Dallas, TX$59,56010,910
Houston, TX$58,9407,680
San Antonio, TX$58,5903,160
Odessa, TX$58,580160
Midland, TX$57,800260
Beaumont, TX$56,720390
Sherman, TX$56,330170
Sources

How this page was made

Wage data
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
Employment
409,670 employed in this occupation nationally (BLS estimate; excludes the self-employed).
Occupation
SOC 49-9021, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers. Mapped to our taxonomy as heating-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration-mechanics-and-installers.

Percentiles are reported exactly as released and are never interpolated between published values. We take no payment from employers, recruiters or anyone else for how any figure is presented.