Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
49-9021 Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
Install or repair heating, central air conditioning, HVAC, or refrigeration systems, including oil burners, hot-air furnaces, and heating stoves.
National estimates for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
Industry profile for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
Geographic profile for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
National estimates for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 356,960 |
1.3 % |
$ 26.29 |
$ 54,690 |
0.5 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 16.50 |
$ 18.49 |
$ 23.38 |
$ 29.81 |
$ 37.60 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 34,320 |
$ 38,450 |
$ 48,630 |
$ 62,000 |
$ 78,210 |
Industry profile for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Building Equipment Contractors |
265,450 |
11.83 |
$ 25.80 |
$ 53,660 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only) |
9,620 |
0.70 |
$ 28.33 |
$ 58,930 |
| Direct Selling Establishments |
9,600 |
7.40 |
$ 26.74 |
$ 55,630 |
| Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance |
6,200 |
2.96 |
$ 28.18 |
$ 58,610 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
5,550 |
0.19 |
$ 27.28 |
$ 56,740 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Building Equipment Contractors |
265,450 |
11.83 |
$ 25.80 |
$ 53,660 |
| Direct Selling Establishments |
9,600 |
7.40 |
$ 26.74 |
$ 55,630 |
| Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance |
6,200 |
2.96 |
$ 28.18 |
$ 58,610 |
| Facilities Support Services |
2,850 |
1.70 |
$ 29.11 |
$ 60,560 |
| Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance |
1,290 |
1.68 |
$ 20.85 |
$ 43,370 |
Top paying industries for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
Geographic profile for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
32,640 |
1.97 |
0.78 |
$ 29.65 |
$ 61,670 |
| Texas |
31,060 |
2.54 |
1.00 |
$ 24.65 |
$ 51,270 |
| Florida |
30,480 |
3.54 |
1.40 |
$ 22.52 |
$ 46,850 |
| New York |
22,240 |
2.57 |
1.01 |
$ 31.82 |
$ 66,180 |
| Pennsylvania |
18,110 |
3.24 |
1.28 |
$ 25.89 |
$ 53,840 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Idaho |
3,760 |
4.97 |
1.96 |
$ 22.24 |
$ 46,250 |
| Maine |
2,150 |
3.63 |
1.43 |
$ 25.02 |
$ 52,050 |
| Florida |
30,480 |
3.54 |
1.40 |
$ 22.52 |
$ 46,850 |
| North Carolina |
15,150 |
3.43 |
1.35 |
$ 22.87 |
$ 47,570 |
| Montana |
1,540 |
3.28 |
1.30 |
$ 25.12 |
$ 52,250 |
Top paying states for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
460 |
0.70 |
0.27 |
$ 33.72 |
$ 70,130 |
| Alaska |
540 |
1.81 |
0.72 |
$ 33.70 |
$ 70,100 |
| Hawaii |
1,360 |
2.48 |
0.98 |
$ 33.22 |
$ 69,100 |
| New Jersey |
9,160 |
2.38 |
0.94 |
$ 32.91 |
$ 68,460 |
| New York |
22,240 |
2.57 |
1.01 |
$ 31.82 |
$ 66,180 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
20,730 |
2.39 |
0.94 |
$ 34.06 |
$ 70,850 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
9,710 |
2.71 |
1.07 |
$ 26.02 |
$ 54,110 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
8,910 |
1.56 |
0.62 |
$ 30.95 |
$ 64,380 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
8,450 |
3.45 |
1.36 |
$ 22.30 |
$ 46,390 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
8,300 |
3.13 |
1.23 |
$ 29.01 |
$ 60,340 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
7,580 |
2.62 |
1.03 |
$ 25.70 |
$ 53,450 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
7,500 |
2.56 |
1.01 |
$ 30.81 |
$ 64,080 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
6,770 |
1.60 |
0.63 |
$ 28.95 |
$ 60,210 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
6,050 |
2.86 |
1.13 |
$ 24.69 |
$ 51,350 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
6,040 |
2.33 |
0.92 |
$ 25.15 |
$ 52,310 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Coeur d'Alene, ID |
540 |
8.32 |
3.28 |
$ 21.79 |
$ 45,320 |
| Homosassa Springs, FL |
190 |
5.95 |
2.35 |
$ 19.50 |
$ 40,560 |
| Boise City, ID |
1,890 |
5.57 |
2.20 |
$ 22.67 |
$ 47,160 |
| Panama City, FL |
430 |
5.46 |
2.16 |
$ 21.85 |
$ 45,440 |
| Punta Gorda, FL |
270 |
5.46 |
2.15 |
$ 22.03 |
$ 45,820 |
| Lancaster, PA |
1,230 |
5.25 |
2.07 |
$ 24.98 |
$ 51,950 |
| Ocean City, NJ |
200 |
5.07 |
2.00 |
$ 25.85 |
$ 53,760 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL |
1,320 |
4.96 |
1.96 |
$ 24.17 |
$ 50,270 |
| Lynchburg, VA |
470 |
4.94 |
1.95 |
$ 24.14 |
$ 50,220 |
| Sebring, FL |
130 |
4.93 |
1.95 |
$ 20.59 |
$ 42,840 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,770 |
1.66 |
0.65 |
$ 37.51 |
$ 78,020 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
70 |
2.10 |
0.83 |
$ 36.90 |
$ 76,750 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
4,050 |
1.81 |
0.71 |
$ 34.48 |
$ 71,710 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
20,730 |
2.39 |
0.94 |
$ 34.06 |
$ 70,850 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
130 |
1.95 |
0.77 |
$ 33.81 |
$ 70,320 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
1,070 |
2.71 |
1.07 |
$ 33.75 |
$ 70,200 |
| New Bedford, MA |
50 |
0.85 |
0.33 |
$ 32.84 |
$ 68,300 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
210 |
2.24 |
0.88 |
$ 32.72 |
$ 68,050 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
3,260 |
1.70 |
0.67 |
$ 32.61 |
$ 67,830 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
5,720 |
2.21 |
0.87 |
$ 32.03 |
$ 66,620 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
