Mechanical Engineering Technician Salary (2026)
Typical pay is $74,510 a year, with most mechanical engineering technicians earning between $59,510 and $88,110. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Mechanical Engineering Technician
Nationally, the typical mechanical engineering technician earns $74,510 a year. Early-career pay starts around $59,510, experienced mechanical engineering technicians earn $88,110 or more, and the top 10% make over $106,050. About 36,190 people work in this occupation in the US. Pay is highest in Louisiana ($102,800) and, among metro areas, in Kennewick-Richland, WA ($126,230).
Mechanical Engineering Technician salary in the United States
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What mechanical engineering technicians do
Mechanical engineering technicians help engineers design, build and test mechanical equipment, running tests, collecting data and making prototype changes. An associate degree or technical training is common.
Mechanical Engineering Technician salary by state
Typical annual pay for mechanical engineering technicians in every state where BLS publishes figures, highest first.
| State | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | $102,800 | $74,900 | $177,240 |
| New Mexico | $97,560 | $76,750 | $118,800 |
| Missouri | $92,150 | $75,290 | $102,380 |
| California | $87,390 | $69,490 | $104,220 |
| Connecticut | $82,660 | $63,150 | $100,450 |
| Rhode Island | $81,600 | $63,280 | $140,960 |
| Oregon | $80,840 | $64,920 | $88,830 |
| Nebraska | $80,050 | $60,290 | $99,640 |
| Washington | $79,410 | $62,240 | $105,020 |
| Maryland | $79,180 | $62,550 | $98,830 |
| Ohio | $78,500 | $63,610 | $84,390 |
| New York | $78,210 | $61,370 | $82,870 |
| Kentucky | $77,990 | $63,320 | $92,420 |
| Delaware | $77,820 | $66,450 | $80,510 |
| Indiana | $77,220 | $61,990 | $90,280 |
| Colorado | $77,090 | $60,270 | $85,810 |
| Illinois | $77,020 | $62,530 | $86,660 |
| Maine | $76,790 | $61,600 | $77,320 |
| Texas | $76,610 | $59,580 | $102,990 |
| North Dakota | $76,440 | $63,540 | $82,940 |
| Virginia | $75,650 | $60,040 | $81,090 |
| Georgia | $73,870 | $56,530 | $99,820 |
| Nevada | $72,950 | $53,520 | $94,260 |
| Arizona | $72,090 | $58,830 | $79,790 |
| Iowa | $71,670 | $62,270 | $85,730 |
| Pennsylvania | $70,820 | $56,480 | $85,480 |
| Mississippi | $70,570 | $60,040 | $73,940 |
| South Carolina | $69,580 | $60,280 | $84,430 |
| Idaho | $68,310 | $56,880 | $77,010 |
| Michigan | $68,170 | $54,080 | $81,160 |
| Wisconsin | $67,850 | $62,450 | $80,380 |
| New Hampshire | $66,740 | $61,520 | $78,880 |
| New Jersey | $65,180 | $57,320 | $83,390 |
| Minnesota | $63,990 | $49,820 | $80,390 |
| Massachusetts | $62,390 | $61,530 | $82,970 |
| North Carolina | $62,360 | $53,070 | $76,650 |
| Tennessee | $62,270 | $52,160 | $78,150 |
| Utah | $61,870 | $51,100 | $76,610 |
| Oklahoma | $61,480 | $58,920 | $76,810 |
| Alabama | $60,350 | $50,060 | $74,390 |
| Florida | $59,720 | $38,600 | $74,640 |
| Kansas | $55,390 | $50,130 | $73,510 |
| South Dakota | $53,670 | $48,990 | $64,900 |
| West Virginia | $47,660 | $45,940 | $67,770 |
Highest-paying metro areas
| Metro area | Typical |
|---|---|
| 1. Kennewick-Richland, WA | $126,230 |
| 2. Baton Rouge, LA | $119,630 |
| 3. Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $110,030 |
| 4. Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | $109,470 |
| 5. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $105,160 |
| 6. Peoria, IL | $102,610 |
| 7. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $100,620 |
| 8. Kansas City, MO-KS | $100,150 |
| 9. Albuquerque, NM | $98,440 |
| 10. Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $97,300 |
| 11. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $96,680 |
| 12. Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | $96,610 |
| 13. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $94,960 |
| 14. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $91,450 |
| 15. Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $85,830 |
Pay in Apollo's markets
| Metro | Typical |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | $70,990 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $71,910 |
| Houston | $91,450 |
| Austin | $64,600 |
| Charlotte | $63,770 |
| Raleigh | $64,840 |
| San Antonio | $68,540 |
| Chicago | Not published |
| Orlando | $53,140 |
| Tampa | $56,580 |
| Miami | Not published |
| Jacksonville | Not published |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | $69,580 |
| Columbia, SC | $72,830 |
| Charleston, SC | $72,330 |
| Savannah | Not published |
Related engineering salaries
Mechanical Engineering Technician salary FAQs
How much does a mechanical engineering technician make in the US?
The typical (median) mechanical engineering technician in the US earns $74,510 a year, or about $35.82 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a mechanical engineering technician in the US?
Early-career mechanical engineering technicians in the US typically earn around $59,510 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $48,400. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced mechanical engineering technicians earn in the US?
Experienced mechanical engineering technicians in the US earn $88,110 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $106,050.
Which state pays mechanical engineering technicians the most?
Louisiana has the highest typical pay for mechanical engineering technicians at $102,800 a year. The highest-paying metro area is Kennewick-Richland, WA at $126,230 (BLS, May 2025).
Are mechanical engineering technicians in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to grow 1.3% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 3,100 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring mechanical engineering technicians?
Where these numbers come from
Pay figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (OEWS), which surveys about 1.1 million employer locations and is the government's main source of pay by occupation and location. This page uses the May 2025 survey, released in 2026, and updates itself when BLS publishes the next year's figures. Job outlook comes from the BLS Employment Projections for 2025–35. Cost of living comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024, where the US average is 100.
Pay is base wages and salary before tax. It does not include bonuses, overtime, benefits or equity. Early career is the 25th percentile (a quarter of workers earn less), Typical is the median and Experienced is the 75th percentile. The bar shows the full range from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The salary rank check estimates a percentile by drawing straight lines between those five published points.
BLS groups some job titles together. Controls engineers, for example, are counted with electrical engineers, and CAD designers with drafters. Each result names the BLS occupation it uses so you can see exactly what is being measured. BLS does not publish every occupation in every area, for example when too few people in a job were surveyed or when a figure does not meet its reliability standards. When a metro figure is missing, the calculator shows the state figure, or the national figure if the state is also missing, and says so.
BLS occupation used on this page: Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians (SOC 17-3027).