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Job requirements and wages for auto mechanics in 2018

September 27, 2019

There are nearly as many registered vehicles in the United States as there are people. The estimated 770,100 automotive service technicians and mechanics in 2018 play a vital role in keeping the nation moving. More than half (58.7 percent) of automotive service technicians and mechanics were required to have at least a high school diploma in 2018. More than three-quarters (76.7 percent) of these workers were required to have on-the-job training. Most of these workers (86.1 percent) were exposed to hazardous contaminants like fumes and liquids that have a negative impact on eyes, skin, or the respiratory system when inhaled, ingested, or contacted.

Percent of automotive service technicians and mechanics with selected job requirements in 2018

Job requirement

Percent

High school diploma

58.7%

On-the-job training

76.7

Exposed to hazardous contaminants

86.1

Percent of day spent standing/walking

86.7

Automotive service technicians and mechanics who worked full time in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California, metropolitan area earned among the highest average hourly rates, $27.33 per hour. Full-time auto mechanics in the Scranton—Wilkes-Barre—Hazleton, Pennsylvania, metro area earned among the lowest wages, $15.87. Auto mechanics in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan, averaged $22.18 per hour.

Average hourly wages for full-time automotive service technicians and mechanics in selected metropolitan areas, 2018

Metropolitan area

Average wage

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

$27.33

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

26.90

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

26.25

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

22.18

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

16.88

El Paso, TX

16.42

Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA

15.87

By state, automotive service technicians and mechanics in Alaska earned among the highest wages, $27.00 per hour, while workers in West Virginia earned among the lowest hourly wages, $16.22. Automotive service technicians and mechanics in Michigan earned an average hourly wage of $20.63. The national average hourly wage for automotive service technicians and mechanics was $21.14.

These data are from the Occupational Requirements Survey and the Modeled Wage Estimates. Wage data for automotive service technicians include all job levels and only full-time workers.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Job requirements and wages for auto mechanics in 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/job-requirements-and-wages-for-auto-mechanics-in-2018.htm (visited December 03, 2024).

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