Last updated: November 2026
The median U.S. maintenance and repair worker earned $49,590 a year ($23.84 an hour) in May 2025, and industrial machinery mechanics earned $64,100 ($30.82 an hour), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 32 skilled maintenance jobs live on MaintenanceJob.tech on 13 November 2026 had a median starting pay of $34.11 an hour.
This guide uses two sources only: BLS national data (linked below) and the pay that employers published in the jobs on our board. How we verify jobs.
National pay by trade (BLS, May 2025)
- General maintenance and repair workers, $49,590 per year, $23.84 per hour, lowest 10% earn less than $35,350, highest 10% earn more than $77,180, job growth 4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: BLS.
- Industrial machinery mechanics, machinery maintenance workers and millwrights, $64,100 per year, $30.82 per hour, lowest 10% earn less than $45,760, highest 10% earn more than $94,530, job growth 14% from 2025 to 2035. Source: BLS.
- Electricians, $63,190 per year, $30.38 per hour, lowest 10% earn less than $42,640, highest 10% earn more than $108,510, job growth 9% from 2025 to 2035. Source: BLS.
- HVAC mechanics and installers, $61,010 per year, $29.33 per hour, lowest 10% earn less than $40,050, highest 10% earn more than $95,210, job growth 11% from 2025 to 2035. Source: BLS.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (pages updated in 2026, May 2025 wage data). The average growth for all jobs is 3%.
Industry matters more than title
For general maintenance and repair workers, BLS reports these May 2025 medians by industry: manufacturing $61,500, government $51,160, healthcare $48,500, real estate and rental $48,360, and accommodation and food services $39,590. Electricians in manufacturing had a median of $74,550, compared with $61,570 at electrical contractors. In short: plant jobs pay more than building jobs.
Pay on our live jobs, by category
Starting pay = the lowest figure the employer published. Yearly salaries are converted to hourly at 2,080 hours (40 hours × 52 weeks). Checked 13 November 2026.
- Instrumentation & Controls, 4 jobs, starting pay $32.49–$47.00 per hour, median starting pay $42.20 per hour, highest published top of range $68.64 per hour
- Industrial Electrician, 6 jobs, starting pay $28.75–$43.57 per hour, median starting pay $38.39 per hour, highest published top of range $63.00 per hour
- Maintenance Mechanic, 1 job, starting pay $38.77 per hour, median starting pay $38.77 per hour, highest published top of range $38.77 per hour
- Maintenance Technician, 9 jobs, starting pay $20.85–$49.20 per hour, median starting pay $34.57 per hour, highest published top of range $54.42 per hour
- Data Center Technician / Engineer, 4 jobs, starting pay $23.00–$37.64 per hour, median starting pay $33.75 per hour, highest published top of range $65.91 per hour
- HVAC Technician, 3 jobs, starting pay $31.35–$53.85 per hour, median starting pay $33.65 per hour, highest published top of range $71.64 per hour
- Critical Facilities, 3 jobs, starting pay $29.85–$33.17 per hour, median starting pay $31.38 per hour, highest published top of range $57.75 per hour
- Facilities Technician, 2 jobs, starting pay $28.46–$30.00 per hour, median starting pay $29.23 per hour, highest published top of range $45.00 per hour
23 of the 32 jobs publish an hourly rate and 9 publish a yearly salary. Small samples: treat category medians as a snapshot, not a national average. Browse current openings by trade on the categories page, including Instrumentation & Controls, Industrial Electrician, Data Center Technician and HVAC Technician.
What raises your pay
- Electrical and controls skills. On our board, instrumentation & controls jobs have the highest median starting pay ($42.20 an hour), and industrial electrician jobs start at a median of $38.39.
- Union and step scales. Boeing's Portland job starts at $47.00 and can reach $68.64 an hour under its union agreement. Toyota starts at $35.90 and tops out at $47.10.
- Shift differentials. Mars adds $1.50 an hour for shift work, and General Mills adds $1.00 an hour from 7 pm to 7 am.
- Sign-on bonuses. $10,000 (Mars), $5,000 (Kimberly-Clark, Generac), $2,000 (Caterpillar).
- Certifications and licenses that the job asks for, such as EPA 608, a journeyman license or NFPA 70E training. See the FAQ.
All 32 jobs and their published pay
Sorted by starting pay (hourly equivalent), highest first. Figures checked 13 November 2026. For current openings, use the category links above rather than a single job URL, because postings expire.
- Commercial HVAC/R & Mechanical Systems Technician, Maritime, Anduril Industries, Santa Ana, CA, $53.85–$71.64 per hour
- Maintenance Technician – Boiler House, 3M, Cordova, IL, $49.20 per hour
- Electronic Maintenance Technician, Boeing, Portland, OR, $47.00–$68.64 per hour
- Instrumentation / Electrical Technician, Unilever, Hammond, IN, $44.75–$49.64 per hour
- Electrical Reliability Technician ($5,000 Sign-On Bonus), Kimberly-Clark, Chester, PA, $43.57 per hour
- Maintenance Technician, The Coca-Cola Company, Apopka, FL, $83,600–$113,100 per year
- Electro-Mechanical Maintenance Technician ($10K Sign-On Bonus), Mars, Elizabethtown, PA, $40.00 per hour
- Industrial Electrician, Anheuser-Busch, Cartersville, GA, $39.87–$40.57 per hour
- Maintenance Technician / EIC (Electrical, Instrumentation, Control) – 12hr Days, The Clorox Company, Forest Park, GA, $39.64 per hour
- Industrial Maintenance Electrician – 1st Shift, Caterpillar, South Milwaukee, WI, $39.53–$41.96 per hour
- Maintenance Mechanic, Mondelēz International, Chicago, IL, $38.77 per hour
- Data Center Engineering Operations Technician, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Manassas, VA, $37.64–$65.91 per hour
- Industrial Maintenance Electrician – 1st Shift ($5,000 Sign-On Bonus), Generac, Sussex, WI, $37.25 per hour
- Data Center Engineer – Elk River, MN Data Center, Target, Elk River, MN, $75,400–$135,700 per year
- Skilled Maintenance Team Member, Toyota, Blue Springs, MS, $35.90–$47.10 per hour
- Senior Maintenance Technician (Night Shift), Merck, Elkhorn, NE, $71,900–$113,200 per year
- Specialist, HVAC Technician, JLL, Andover, MA, $70,000–$100,000 per year
- Data Center Critical Facilities Engineer, Equinix, Ashburn, VA, $69,000–$103,000 per year
- Automation Maintenance Technician (AGV), Procter & Gamble, Dallas, TX, $32.49 per hour
- Critical Operations Technician I, QTS, Richmond, VA, $31.38–$47.99 per hour
- HVAC Technician, C&W Services (Cushman & Wakefield), Euclid, OH, $31.35–$36.88 per hour
- Data Center Technician – Elk Grove, IL, CoreWeave, Elk Grove Village, IL, $65,000–$85,000 per year
- Electrician II, Relativity Space, Long Beach, CA, $31.00–$46.50 per hour
- Equipment Maintenance Technician II, Rocket Lab, Long Beach, CA, $30.00–$45.00 per hour
- Facilities Technician, Astranis, San Francisco, CA, $30.00–$45.00 per hour
- Gases Technician (Facilities, 12hr Night Shift), Intel, Phoenix, AZ, $62,090–$120,110 per year
- Facilities Electrical Maintenance Technician – Hazardous Production Materials, Micron Technology, Manassas, VA, $28.75–$63.00 per hour
- Facilities Maintenance Technician III, Medtronic, Salt Lake City, UT, $59,200–$88,800 per year
- Maintenance Technician – Blue Buffalo (Night Shift), General Mills, Joplin, MO, $27.50–$29.50 per hour
- Maintenance Technician – Level 3 or Level 4 (C-Shift), Northrop Grumman, Iuka, MS, $50,000–$99,000 per year
- Data Center Facilities Technician, SpaceX, Hawthorne, CA, $23.00–$51.00 per hour
- Maintenance Technician – 12hr Day Shift (6 AM–6 PM), Abbott, Casa Grande, AZ, $20.85–$41.75 per hour
Pay by state
For state and metro wages, use the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics maps (choose Maintenance and repair workers, general, code 49-9071, or Industrial machinery mechanics, 49-9041) at bls.gov/oes. Browse our jobs by state on the states page.
Quick answers
What is a good hourly rate for a maintenance technician in 2026?
The BLS national median for industrial machinery mechanics is $30.82 an hour (May 2025). Skilled plant jobs on our board started at a median of $34.11 an hour, and many started above $35.
Do maintenance technicians get paid overtime?
Hourly maintenance jobs are usually paid overtime, and BLS notes that overtime is common for industrial machinery mechanics. Anheuser-Busch's Cartersville job, for example, lists 1.5x pay on Saturdays.
How often is this guide updated?
We plan to refresh it every month from the jobs live on the site.
Related: industrial maintenance jobs · HVAC jobs · data center technician jobs · data center technician salary.