Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
HVAC Technician vs Machinist
HVAC Technicians earn a national median of $62,556 versus $57,590 for Machinists, a gap of $4,966 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. HVAC Technicians have posted +6% 5-year wage growth versus +-1% for Machinists.
How These Trades Stack Up
HVAC Technicians out-earn Machinists on national median by $4,966 — $62,556 versus $57,590, or about 9% more. That gap reflects differences in apprenticeship length, certification requirements, industry concentration, and union footprint between the two trades.
HVAC Technicians have grown faster — +6% over five years versus +-1% for Machinists. Sustained growth gaps of this size can compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career, so workers comparing the two trades should weigh growth alongside the headline median.
Both trades follow a 4-year apprenticeship pathway — paid on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction, registered through the U.S. Department of Labor at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/. Apprentice pay typically scales from roughly 40% of journeyman wage in year one to 95% by the final year.
HVAC Technician
HVAC · 4yr apprenticeship
Machinist
Metalwork · 4yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | HVAC Technician | Machinist | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston, MA | $77,600 | $63,600 | +$14,000 |
| San Francisco, CA | $76,760 | $66,320 | +$10,440 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $76,090 | $60,470 | +$15,620 |
| Seattle, WA | $75,500 | $73,790 | +$1,710 |
| Chicago, IL | $74,400 | $57,470 | +$16,930 |
| New York, NY | $74,090 | $62,320 | +$11,770 |
| Denver, CO | $64,990 | $59,640 | +$5,350 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $64,820 | $50,610 | +$14,210 |
| Portland, OR | $64,290 | $62,350 | +$1,940 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $63,490 | $53,010 | +$10,480 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $62,830 | $59,500 | +$3,330 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $62,030 | $47,640 | +$14,390 |
| Columbus, OH | $61,990 | $52,790 | +$9,200 |
| St. Louis, MO | $61,880 | $60,850 | +$1,030 |
| Detroit, MI | $61,140 | $57,240 | +$3,900 |
| Kansas City, MO | $61,080 | $54,380 | +$6,700 |
| Nashville, TN | $59,840 | $49,280 | +$10,560 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $59,530 | $50,050 | +$9,480 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $58,820 | $59,240 | -$420 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $58,790 | $52,920 | +$5,870 |
| Charlotte, NC | $57,950 | $59,260 | -$1,310 |
| Houston, TX | $57,910 | $58,630 | -$720 |
| New Orleans, LA | $57,780 | $61,560 | -$3,780 |
| Dallas, TX | $57,670 | $57,400 | +$270 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $57,110 | $61,040 | -$3,930 |
| Atlanta, GA | $56,830 | $52,810 | +$4,020 |
| Raleigh, NC | $54,180 | $61,040 | -$6,860 |
| San Antonio, TX | $53,770 | $53,010 | +$760 |
| Miami, FL | $53,510 | $58,640 | -$5,130 |
| Tampa, FL | $50,010 | $50,830 | -$820 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
All wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2024) release at bls.gov/oes. National medians are the BLS-published median wages for the trade's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code; metropolitan medians come from the same OEWS release at the metropolitan statistical area level. Five-year wage growth compares the current OEWS median to the same series five releases prior, expressed as a percent change. The Trade Pay Score weights raw pay (30%), wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade — read the full methodology.
Forward-looking employment projections through 2032 for both trades are published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship pathway detail comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov registry. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do HVAC Technicians or Machinists make more money?
HVAC Technicians earn more on national median — $62,556 versus $57,590, a gap of $4,966 per 2024 BLS OEWS data. The full BLS dataset is published at https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
Which trade has stronger 5-year wage growth?
HVAC Technicians have posted faster wage growth at +6% versus +-1% for Machinists. Sustained gaps in growth often compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career.
How long is the apprenticeship for each trade?
HVAC Technicians typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Machinists typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
HVAC Technicians have 157,240 workers employed nationally; Machinists have 113,790. Larger employment bases generally translate into more job openings, easier mobility between employers, and lower volatility — useful when comparing the long-term resilience of two trade pathways.
Where can I find apprenticeships for either trade?
Registered apprenticeship programs for both HVAC Technician and Machinist are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/, which lets you filter by trade, state, and city. Projected employment growth through 2032 for each occupation is published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
HVAC Technicians earn a national median of $62,556 versus $57,590 for Machinists, a gap of $4,966 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. HVAC Technicians have posted +6% 5-year wage growth versus +-1% for Machinists.
Comparing entity A and entity B on U.S. skilled-trade wage data requires lining up the underlying the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data side by side. The table above runs the comparison on the canonical fields; the narrative below identifies the factor or factors that drive the most meaningful difference between the two.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.