Salaries

Aircraft Mechanic Salary.

Across 81 U.S. cities.

$79,000

estimated national base salary

$62,000 to $95,000. Last updated September 2026.

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Government benchmark for this occupation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $79,870 for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (SOC 49-3011) across the United States, based on 138,090 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$48,780

25th percentile

$62,630

Median

$79,870

75th percentile

$99,130

90th percentile

$128,890

Workers surveyed

138,090

What BLS published in each release

May 2024 release

$78,680

May 2025 release

$79,870

These are two separate published estimates, not a time series. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not encourage the use of OEWS data for time-series analysis. Differences between releases reflect changes in occupational classification, survey methodology, and the three-year pooled sample as well as any change in pay, so the two figures should not be read as a rate of wage growth.

BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (SOC 49-3011) rather than Aircraft Mechanic specifically. The national range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.

View the BLS source for SOC 49-3011

Highest Paying

$110,000

San Francisco, CA

Best Purchasing Power

$83,000

Salt Lake City, UT

Lowest Paying

$60,000

Charleston, WV

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated September 2026. This role maps to BLS occupation code 49-3011. Full methodology.

Orbyt estimates the average Aircraft Mechanic salary in the United States at $79,000 in 2026, within a range of $62,000 to $95,000. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page. San Francisco is the highest of the 81 cities at $110,000, while Salt Lake City offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certification is mandatory, and mechanics with Inspection Authorization (IA) earn 15 to 20% premiums.

Aircraft Mechanic salary by city.

Salary comparison across 81 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjustedRank
San Francisco, CA$110,000$86,000 to $132,0001.35x$81,000#3271 of 3445
San Jose, CA$107,000$84,000 to $128,0001.38x$78,000#3307 of 3445
Honolulu, HI$106,000$83,000 to $127,0001.30x$82,000#3271 of 3445
New York, NY$100,000$79,000 to $120,0001.28x$78,000#3302 of 3445
Boston, MA$99,000$78,000 to $119,0001.22x$81,000#3275 of 3445
Washington DC, DC$99,000$78,000 to $119,0001.25x$79,000#3290 of 3445
Arlington, VA$99,000$78,000 to $119,0001.22x$81,000#3274 of 3445
Seattle, WA$96,000$75,000 to $115,0001.24x$77,000#3304 of 3445
Los Angeles, CA$94,000$74,000 to $113,0001.18x$80,000#3282 of 3445
Miami, FL$92,000$72,000 to $111,0001.12x$82,000#3265 of 3445
San Diego, CA$92,000$73,000 to $111,0001.17x$79,000#3297 of 3445
Newark, NJ$92,000$72,000 to $111,0001.18x$78,000#3297 of 3445
Jersey City, NJ$91,000$71,000 to $109,0001.20x$76,000#3314 of 3445
Denver, CO$89,000$70,000 to $107,0001.08x$82,000#3268 of 3445
Philadelphia, PA$89,000$70,000 to $107,0001.09x$82,000#3271 of 3445
Portland, OR$88,000$69,000 to $106,0001.10x$80,000#3274 of 3445
Boulder, CO$88,000$69,000 to $106,0001.15x$77,000#3312 of 3445
Anchorage, AK$87,000$69,000 to $105,0001.13x$77,000#3309 of 3445
Hartford, CT$87,000$68,000 to $105,0001.08x$81,000#3273 of 3445
Princeton, NJ$87,000$68,000 to $105,0001.15x$76,000#3323 of 3445
Baltimore, MD$86,000$68,000 to $104,0001.08x$80,000#3285 of 3445
Burlington, VT$84,000$66,000 to $101,0001.06x$79,000#3292 of 3445
Chicago, IL$83,000$65,000 to $100,0001.07x$78,000#3298 of 3445
Austin, TX$83,000$65,000 to $100,0001.03x$81,000#3277 of 3445
Manchester, NH$83,000$65,000 to $100,0001.06x$78,000#3303 of 3445
Sacramento, CA$83,000$65,000 to $100,0001.10x$75,000#3321 of 3445
Dallas, TX$82,000$64,000 to $99,0001.01x$81,000#3274 of 3445
Minneapolis, MN$82,000$64,000 to $99,0001.05x$78,000#3293 of 3445
Nashville, TN$81,000$64,000 to $98,0001.00x$81,000#3266 of 3445
Raleigh, NC$81,000$63,000 to $97,0000.99x$82,000#3269 of 3445
Salt Lake City, UT$81,000$63,000 to $97,0000.98x$83,000#3263 of 3445
Providence, RI$81,000$64,000 to $98,0001.04x$78,000#3300 of 3445
Richmond, VA$81,000$63,000 to $97,0001.01x$80,000#3276 of 3445
Portland, ME$80,000$62,000 to $96,0001.05x$76,000#3309 of 3445
Atlanta, GA$79,000$62,000 to $95,0001.02x$77,000#3302 of 3445
Las Vegas, NV$79,000$62,000 to $95,0000.96x$82,000#3262 of 3445
Virginia Beach, VA$79,000$62,000 to $95,0000.98x$81,000#3274 of 3445
Wilmington, DE$78,000$61,000 to $94,0001.02x$76,000#3316 of 3445
Ann Arbor, MI$78,000$61,000 to $94,0001.02x$76,000#3308 of 3445
Phoenix, AZ$77,000$61,000 to $93,0000.96x$80,000#3281 of 3445
Tampa, FL$77,000$60,000 to $92,0000.96x$80,000#3279 of 3445
Charleston, SC$77,000$60,000 to $92,0000.98x$79,000#3299 of 3445
Orlando, FL$77,000$61,000 to $93,0000.95x$81,000#3275 of 3445
Madison, WI$77,000$61,000 to $93,0000.95x$81,000#3272 of 3445
Columbus, OH$76,000$59,000 to $91,0000.93x$82,000#3265 of 3445
Albany, NY$76,000$60,000 to $91,0000.96x$79,000#3276 of 3445
North Charleston, SC$76,000$59,000 to $91,0000.94x$81,000#3270 of 3445
Houston, TX$75,000$59,000 to $90,0000.97x$77,000#3301 of 3445
Boise, ID$75,000$59,000 to $90,0000.95x$79,000#3287 of 3445
Charlotte, NC$74,000$58,000 to $88,0000.97x$76,000#3313 of 3445
St. Louis, MO$74,000$58,000 to $89,0000.90x$82,000#3266 of 3445
Reno, NV$74,000$58,000 to $89,0000.96x$77,000#3304 of 3445
Indianapolis, IN$73,000$58,000 to $88,0000.91x$80,000#3280 of 3445
New Orleans, LA$73,000$57,000 to $87,0000.92x$79,000#3281 of 3445
Columbia, SC$73,000$57,000 to $87,0000.90x$81,000#3271 of 3445
Kansas City, MO$72,000$57,000 to $87,0000.93x$77,000#3298 of 3445
San Antonio, TX$72,000$56,000 to $86,0000.91x$79,000#3281 of 3445
Knoxville, TN$72,000$57,000 to $87,0000.89x$81,000#3268 of 3445
Pittsburgh, PA$71,000$56,000 to $86,0000.92x$77,000#3305 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$71,000$55,000 to $85,0000.86x$83,000#3267 of 3445
Columbus, OH$71,000$56,000 to $86,0000.93x$76,000#3311 of 3445
Detroit, MI$70,000$55,000 to $84,0000.90x$78,000#3300 of 3445
Milwaukee, WI$70,000$55,000 to $85,0000.91x$77,000#3310 of 3445
Baton Rouge, LA$70,000$55,000 to $84,0000.88x$80,000#3280 of 3445
Spokane, WA$70,000$55,000 to $85,0000.92x$76,000#3315 of 3445
Sioux Falls, SD$69,000$54,000 to $83,0000.85x$81,000#3270 of 3445
Cheyenne, WY$69,000$54,000 to $83,0000.87x$79,000#3280 of 3445
Cincinnati, OH$69,000$54,000 to $83,0000.90x$77,000#3311 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$69,000$54,000 to $83,0000.86x$80,000#3274 of 3445
Albuquerque, NM$68,000$53,000 to $82,0000.88x$77,000#3298 of 3445
Birmingham, AL$67,000$53,000 to $81,0000.84x$80,000#3282 of 3445
Wichita, KS$67,000$53,000 to $81,0000.82x$82,000#3271 of 3445
Louisville, KY$67,000$52,000 to $80,0000.88x$76,000#3316 of 3445
Omaha, NE$67,000$53,000 to $81,0000.88x$76,000#3310 of 3445
Oklahoma City, OK$66,000$52,000 to $79,0000.84x$79,000#3298 of 3445
Little Rock, AR$65,000$51,000 to $78,0000.82x$79,000#3281 of 3445
Fargo, ND$65,000$51,000 to $78,0000.85x$76,000#3307 of 3445
Lexington, KY$65,000$51,000 to $78,0000.86x$76,000#3315 of 3445
Tulsa, OK$63,000$49,000 to $76,0000.83x$76,000#3313 of 3445
Jackson, MS$62,000$49,000 to $75,0000.79x$78,000#3292 of 3445
Charleston, WV$60,000$47,000 to $73,0000.78x$77,000#3305 of 3445

Skills that increase Aircraft Mechanic pay.

The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for Aircraft Mechanics, not effects measured from job postings: each is a fixed percentage applied to the estimated base. At the top premium that works out to $11,060 a year.

LLM Fine-Tuning+14%

≈ +$11,060 per year

Reinforcement Learning+13%

≈ +$10,270 per year

CUDA+12%

≈ +$9,480 per year

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)+11%

≈ +$8,690 per year

Kubernetes+11%

≈ +$8,690 per year

Transformers+10%

≈ +$7,900 per year

Rust+10%

≈ +$7,900 per year

PyTorch+9%

≈ +$7,110 per year

What you should know.

FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certification is mandatory, and mechanics with Inspection Authorization (IA) earn 15 to 20% premiums. Specialization in turbine engines, avionics, or composite structures commands the highest rates. Airlines pay more than general aviation, while defense contractors offer the best total compensation for security-cleared mechanics.

A&P school graduates start at $42,000 to $52,000, advancing to experienced mechanic at $54,000 to $75,000 in three to four years. Lead mechanics and inspectors earn $78,000 to $95,000, while directors of maintenance at regional airlines or MRO facilities reach $100,000 to $140,000.

Airlines provide flight benefits worth $5,000 to $15,000 annually in personal travel value. Shift differentials for evening and overnight maintenance add 10 to 15%, and overtime during heavy maintenance checks can boost annual pay by $8,000 to $18,000.

Total compensation breakdown.

Base Salary
$79,000
Equity / Year
$8,000
Annual Bonus
5%
$4,000
Total Comp
$91,000

Salary by company size

Startup
< 50 employees
$67,000
Growth
50-500 employees
$73,000
Scale-up
500-5K employees
$79,000
Public
5K+ employees
$93,000

Remote salary adjustment

Remote Aircraft Mechanics typically earn $71,000 (10% less than on-site). This reflects location-adjusted pay policies at companies using geographic salary bands. Some companies pay flat national rates regardless of location.

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Related.

Common questions about Aircraft Mechanic pay.

Orbyt estimates the national median Aircraft Mechanic salary at $79,000 in 2026, within a range of $62,000 to $95,000. This is a computed estimate, not a measured wage. Where you land depends on your experience, skills, the company's size, and your location.

Entry level Aircraft Mechanics (0 to 2 years) typically earn $51,000 to $63,000. Mid level (3 to 5 years) run $67,000 to $83,000. Senior (6 to 9 years) reach $87,000 to $103,000, and lead level (10 plus years) $99,000 to $122,000.

Anchor your ask near the top of the range at $95,000 so you have room to settle around the $79,000 median. Bring specific data about your impact, and never accept the first number without a conversation.

FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certification is mandatory, and mechanics with Inspection Authorization (IA) earn 15 to 20% premiums. Specialization in turbine engines, avionics, or composite structures commands the highest rates. Airlines pay more than general aviation, while defense contractors offer the best total compensation for security-cleared mechanics.

A&P school graduates start at $42,000 to $52,000, advancing to experienced mechanic at $54,000 to $75,000 in three to four years. Lead mechanics and inspectors earn $78,000 to $95,000, while directors of maintenance at regional airlines or MRO facilities reach $100,000 to $140,000.

Airlines provide flight benefits worth $5,000 to $15,000 annually in personal travel value. Shift differentials for evening and overnight maintenance add 10 to 15%, and overtime during heavy maintenance checks can boost annual pay by $8,000 to $18,000.

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