Mechanic hourly rates by state: What shops charge vs. what techs take home
“Mechanic hourly rate” gets you two different numbers: what you charge and what you pay. Here’s the state-by-state wage data behind the gap.
September 11, 2026 · Arnold GoldLinkedIn profile of Arnold Gold · 5 minutes read
As a shop owner, it’s likely that you’re constantly comparing labor rates and hourly wages, especially when a customer does a double-take when you mention that the per-hour rate is $175 or when your tech quits because the pay wasn’t enough.
If you search “mechanic hourly rate” online, the numbers you see will be genuinely confusing because you’re getting two different things: what shops are generally charging the customer and what they’re paying the techs.
You know you raised the labor rate last year, and you know how much money your techs are taking home. But how does this compare to the rates and wages set by a shop two states over?
What shops are paying their techs
The best-paid 10% of technicians nationally make more than double what the bottom 10% make: one side makes $16.66/hour while the other makes $39.32/hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ask shop owners why they can’t find technicians, and low compensation is the #1 answer, at 24%, ahead of bad PR for the trade, lack of training access, or other industries poaching talent. But ask the techs themselves, and 67% of them will say low pay is the main reason for the shortage.
Pay is actually doing double work on your turnover problem. Low pay is the reason why so many techs are walking away, but if the pay is competitive enough, they have a reason to stay. So, if you gave someone a raise last year and they’re still thinking about leaving, the raise probably didn’t close the gap. It just kept pace with how far behind you already were.
Here are the top 15 places that are paying the most:
| Rank | Place | Hourly Mean Wage |
| 1 | District of Columbia | $32.65 |
| 2 | Alaska | $31.55 |
| 3 | California | $31.47 |
| 4 | Colorado | $30.76 |
| 5 | Oregon | $30.39 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $30.27 |
| 7 | Washington | $30.03 |
| 8 | Virginia | $29.62 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $29.18 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $28.92 |
| 11 | Maryland | $28.55 |
| 12 | Montana | $28.51 |
| 13 | Minnesota | $28.51 |
| 14 | New York | $28.42 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $28.28 |
Surprised to see that your state isn’t a part of the table? It just means you’re competing for the same techs as shops that might be paying more for the same work, and you’re definitely competing against whatever the dealership is offering.
Shop owners don’t think this fixes itself: 46% expect the tech shortage to get worse over the next five years, while 36% think it’ll improve. However, plenty of shop owners aren’t sitting idle. According to the OEC U.S. General Auto Repair Shop Survey Report, the #1 move made by shop owners is to offer competitive wages. Other common ways are to provide training opportunities, promote work-life balance, maintain a positive work environment, and make hours more flexible.
What shops are charging their customers
PartsTech surveyed 752 general repair shops across the U.S. during fall 2024, and 49% of shops charge between $120 and $159 per hour. Only 10% charge less than $100 per hour, and only 2% have pushed past $200 per hour.
You already know rates have gone up. What you might not know is exactly why the jump has gotten sharper. Cars are getting older, with the average vehicle age reaching 12.8 years, and older cars tend to break down more often. When the pandemic hit, a lot of techs were laid off, and as things slowly returned to normal, the shortage of workers was a big problem. In order to bring in more technicians, shops raised wages, shifting some of the costs to the customers. Then, there’s the fact that the repairs are getting more complex. CarMD’s 2026 Vehicle Health Index says it plainly: “What used to be simple repairs now often require more diagnostic time, specialized tools, and advanced skills.” For instance, Ryan Mandell, the director of performance consulting at Mitchell, says the same fender-bender now involves replacing sensors that didn’t exist on that part of the car a decade ago.
Final thoughts
A tech in Alaska might be making well above the national median. But in another part of the country, a tech could be doing the same complicated work for a lot less, even if the shop may have raised its labor rate.
A tip to understand what’s going on in your shop: Compare your labor rates and tech wages from three years ago with those of today. If your labor rates have increased way faster than your wages, you know there’s a gap there. It’s worth knowing where the extra money is going because if it isn’t reaching your employees, it probably isn’t doing much to keep them either.
Want to learn how shop management software handles labor rates? Get a walkthrough of Way Repair Tech, tailored to your shop. Schedule a demo today.
Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
BLS: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (Q4 2025)
BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Profiles (May 2025)
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics)
PartsTech: The State of General Auto Repair Shops in the United States
OEC U.S. General Auto Repair Shop Survey Report
