How Much Do HVAC Technicians Make? HVAC Salary Calculator by State

HVAC technicians — heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers — earned a median of $61,010 a year in May 2025, $29.33 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which counted 409,670 on payrolls. A trainee near the bottom tenth earns under $19.25 an hour; the top tenth over $45.78, more than twice as much. Peak-season overtime is not in those figures.

HVAC technicians: pay at every level

This is the BLS line for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021) on employers' payrolls. Self-employed technicians and contractors who own their business — 6% of the occupation (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook) — aren't in these figures. Take-home assumes a single filer with 2026 federal tax and FICA and no state tax.

HVAC technician pay by state

Washington, D.C. has the highest HVAC median, $84,390, then Alaska ($77,430) and Illinois ($77,410). Arkansas is lowest at $48,110. Florida employs more HVAC technicians than any other state, 39,160, at $56,670 — below California's $72,560 and close to Texas's $57,760.

Which employers pay HVAC technicians most

Wholesale distributors pay HVAC techs the most, $71,190, then retailers ($62,830) and schools and universities ($62,520). Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors employ 68% of technicians at a median of $60,030 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

A HVAC technician's schedule

Most HVAC technicians work full time, and schedules can include evenings or weekends. They may be on call for emergencies and sometimes work overtime or irregular hours in peak heating and cooling seasons. Many start the day with several service calls to drive between, and work in cramped spaces, outdoors in any weather, or in buildings whose heating or cooling has failed (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Overtime for HVAC technicians

HVAC technicians are skilled tradespeople, and the federal rules say the learned-professional exemption doesn't cover the mechanical arts or skilled trades (29 CFR 541.301), so techs are owed time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek (U.S. Department of Labor). That makes summer and winter peaks worth real money, and BLS's figures leave all of it out.

What a busy season of overtime adds for HVAC technicians

Peak heating and cooling seasons are when HVAC overtime happens. The table adds seasonal overtime at time and a half of the BLS median hourly wage to a year's pay, for a range of busy-season lengths and weekly overtime hours. The weeks and hours are examples, not BLS data — enter your own in the calculator's overtime field (spread across the year) to include them in take-home pay.

Training, licenses and pay

Most HVAC technicians complete a 6-month to 2-year program at a trade school or community college; some start with a high school diploma, and some train through a paid apprenticeship lasting several years. New hires work alongside experienced techs for a long period before working alone. The EPA requires nearly all technicians to be certified to handle refrigerants, some states and localities require a license, and many employers want a driver's license (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Related tools and guides

More ways to work with your HVAC technician pay:

• Overtime pay calculator
• Take-home pay calculator (2026 federal tax)
• Overtime vs side hustle calculator
• Contractor vs employee pay calculator
• Hourly pay by job: all the BLS pay calculators