How Much Do Elevator Mechanics Make? Elevator Mechanic Salary

Elevator and escalator installers and repairers earned a median of $109,910 a year in May 2025 ($52.84 an hour), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which counted 23,790. That makes it one of the best-paid trades, with the top tenth over $158,890 and the bottom tenth under $59,270. Call-outs and overtime are extra.

Elevator mechanics: pay at every level

This is the BLS line for elevator and escalator installers and repairers (SOC 47-4021) on employers' payrolls. Overtime and on-call pay are excluded (BLS OEWS FAQ). BLS released state figures for only some states. Take-home assumes a single filer with 2026 federal tax and FICA and no state tax.

Elevator mechanic pay by state

Maine ($143,690), Nevada ($141,950) and California ($141,180) have the highest medians among the 37 states BLS reports. New York employs the most elevator mechanics, 3,470, at $135,720, ahead of Florida ($104,730) and Texas ($102,140). Kentucky's released median, $42,670, is far below every other state and comes with no employment count, so read it with care.

Which employers pay elevator mechanics most

Government has the highest median, $116,480, but building equipment contractors employ 89% of elevator mechanics at $113,290; schools and universities pay $98,300 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

A elevator mechanic's schedule

Most elevator and escalator mechanics work full time, may work overtime for emergency repairs or construction deadlines, and may be on call 24 hours a day. Building equipment contractors employ 89% of them. The work is physical: lifting items of up to 200 pounds, cramped machine rooms and crawl spaces, heights in elevator shafts, and heat, cold and grease (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Overtime for elevator mechanics

Elevator work is a skilled trade, which the learned-professional exemption doesn't cover (29 CFR 541.301), so mechanics are owed time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek (U.S. Department of Labor). Emergency call-outs and deadline overtime, both common in this job, come on top of the BLS figures, which exclude overtime and on-call pay.

From apprentice to top pay: the elevator mechanic ladder

The OOH says apprentices usually start at about 50% of what fully trained mechanics make and get raises as they progress. The table applies that half to the BLS median as a guide to starting pay and sets it beside the BLS pay levels for the whole occupation. The starting figure is arithmetic from the OOH's rule of thumb, not a separate BLS estimate.

Training, licenses and pay

Nearly all elevator mechanics learn through an apprenticeship, typically 4 years, sponsored by a union, industry association or employer, with set hours of technical instruction and paid on-the-job training each year in safety, blueprints, applied physics, electrical and digital theory and electronics. A high school diploma is typically required, most states require a license, and mechanics can advance to mechanic-in-charge, adjuster or supervisor (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Related tools and guides

More ways to work with your elevator mechanic pay:

• Overtime pay calculator
• Take-home pay calculator (2026 federal tax)
• Pay raise calculator
• Side hustles for men
• Hourly pay by job: all the BLS pay calculators