Diesel Mechanic Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Nationally, there are 131,000 working as diesel mechanics. This occupation has a low ranking for joblessness. The jobless rate for employees was about 3% in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Diesel mechanics per capita is greatest in Texarkana (Texas), Hinesville (Georgia), and Anniston (Alabama). Tallahassee (Florida), San Francisco (California), and Bridgeport (Connecticut) have the fewest per capita.

The highest salaries for workers are found in Ann Arbor (Michigan), Fairbanks (Alaska), and Anchorage (Alaska), and the lowest-paying areas are in Laredo (Texas), Pensacola (Florida), and Abilene (Texas).

Training and Education

Long-term on-the-job training is generally expected for employees. Recent data shows that 3% of diesel mechanics have a degree. Workers with some schooling beyond high school, but not a four college degree, represent about 35% of the total. A high school diploma or GED, without further education, is held by 62% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Diesel mechanics working less than full time, whether by design or chance, were 2% of the total. Approximately 5% of people who work as workers are self-employed.

Diesel Mechanics: An Introductory Video

Diesel Mechanics Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of diesel mechanics compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for diesel mechanics.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anniston	$43,000	910
Birmingham	$42,000	800
Huntsville	$43,000	320
Mobile	$35,000	270
Montgomery	$43,000	260
Tuscaloosa	$40,000	180
Decatur	$39,000	50
Florence	$32,000	40
Dothan	$40,000	40

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$63,000	350
Fairbanks	$68,000	180

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Phoenix	$45,000	1,850
Tucson	$47,000	520
Prescott	$44,000	280
Yuma	$45,000	50
Kingman	$42,000	50
Flagstaff	$43,000	30

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Little Rock	$36,000	280
Fort Smith	$36,000	210
Fayetteville	$36,000	50
Pine Bluff	$39,000	40
Jonesboro	$32,000	40

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Riverside	$48,000	1,560
Oakland	$65,000	1,090
San Diego	$60,000	1,060
Sacramento	$48,000	1,060
Santa Ana	$45,000	640
Bakersfield	$46,000	550
San Jose	$56,000	420
Fresno	$46,000	350
Stockton	$51,000	240
Vallejo	$50,000	180
Oxnard	$56,000	170
Modesto	$45,000	160
Salinas	$46,000	140
Santa Barbara	$48,000	140
San Francisco	$58,000	130
Santa Rosa	$62,000	120
Redding	$51,000	90
Visalia	$41,000	70
Merced	$50,000	70
Chico	$46,000	70
El Centro	$43,000	60
Santa Cruz	$57,000	60
Napa	$62,000	60
San Luis Obispo	$51,000	50

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Denver	$46,000	1,760
Colorado Springs	$46,000	240
Greeley	$37,000	130
Pueblo	$44,000	90
Fort Collins	$45,000	60

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New Haven	$47,000	270
Hartford	$47,000	270
Bridgeport	$58,000	50

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$47,000	320
Dover	$40,000	70

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$48,000	1,140

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Tampa	$41,000	840
Miami	$47,000	690
Orlando	$39,000	560
Jacksonville	$38,000	530
Lakeland	$33,000	320
Cape Coral	$39,000	200
West Palm Beach	$40,000	190
Sarasota	$35,000	130
Deltona	$38,000	100
Panama City	$33,000	100
Palm Bay	$46,000	80
Port St Lucie	$47,000	80
Ocala	$37,000	70
Naples	$41,000	70
Pensacola	$28,000	60
Tallahassee	$43,000	30

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Atlanta	$42,000	1,760
Albany	$46,000	390
Columbus	$38,000	270
Hinesville	$37,000	250
Augusta	$43,000	190
Savannah	$40,000	180
Macon	$43,000	150
Dalton	$39,000	120
Valdosta	$36,000	70
Athens	$38,000	30

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$59,000	210

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$39,000	380
Pocatello	$39,000	50
Coeur Dalene	$41,000	50

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Chicago	$59,000	1,910
Peoria	$47,000	150

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Indianapolis	$43,000	1,040
Evansville	$38,000	510
Gary	$54,000	240
Fort Wayne	$42,000	190
Lafayette	$39,000	100
Bloomington	$39,000	90
South Bend	$53,000	60
Elkhart	$42,000	50
Terre Haute	$40,000	40
Michigan City	$44,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Des Moines	$44,000	470
Davenport	$42,000	290
Waterloo	$41,000	80
Sioux City	$46,000	60
Cedar Rapids	$44,000	50
Dubuque	$41,000	50
Iowa City	$35,000	50

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$43,000	310
Topeka	$42,000	110

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Louisville	$39,000	770
Lexington	$40,000	260
Elizabethtown	$45,000	100

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New Orleans	$38,000	1,360
Baton Rouge	$46,000	720
Houma	$43,000	490
Shreveport	$41,000	320
Lafayette	$41,000	310
Lake Charles	$38,000	290
Alexandria	$33,000	140
Monroe	$54,000	100

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$45,000	280
Bangor	$39,000	180
Lewiston	$35,000	70

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baltimore	$44,000	1,080
Bethesda	$44,000	270
Hagerstown	$47,000	30

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boston	$49,000	640
Worcester	$46,000	230
Springfield	$48,000	100
Lowell	$51,000	70
Brockton	$50,000	60
Framingham	$44,000	60
Barnstable Town	$48,000	50
Lawrence	$44,000	30

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Warren	$54,000	650
Detroit	$52,000	470
Grand Rapids	$45,000	220
Lansing	$46,000	70
Battle Creek	$48,000	60
Ann Arbor	$70,000	60
Niles	$38,000	60
Muskegon	$38,000	30

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$51,000	1,610
Duluth	$49,000	760
St Cloud	$44,000	110
Rochester	$45,000	60

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$36,000	450
Gulfport	$39,000	120
Hattiesburg	$37,000	60

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
St Louis	$42,000	1,240
Kansas City	$45,000	1,040
Springfield	$40,000	140
Columbia	$32,000	70
Jefferson City	$34,000	50
Joplin	$38,000	40

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Billings	$37,000	220
Great Falls	$45,000	100
Missoula	$42,000	60

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$39,000	360
Lincoln	$42,000	120

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$49,000	640
Reno	$48,000	330

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Manchester	$42,000	120
Nashua	$44,000	90
Portsmouth	$52,000	50

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Edison	$51,000	750
Newark	$54,000	580
Camden	$44,000	420
Vineland	$43,000	50
Atlantic City	$56,000	40

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$41,000	560
Farmington	$46,000	430

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New York	$57,000	1,390
Albany	$45,000	450
Nassau	$54,000	370
Rochester	$41,000	330
Syracuse	$41,000	240
Poughkeepsie	$52,000	220
Buffalo	$45,000	180
Binghamton	$38,000	80
Utica	$37,000	40
Glens Falls	$40,000	40

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charlotte	$39,000	890
Raleigh	$40,000	630
Greensboro	$39,000	220
Fayetteville	$40,000	120
Asheville	$36,000	100
Durham	$37,000	90
Winston Salem	$37,000	70
Hickory	$40,000	50
Rocky Mount	$36,000	40
Greenville	$38,000	30

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$40,000	240
Bismarck	$46,000	110
Grand Forks	$46,000	70

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cincinnati	$44,000	640
Columbus	$48,000	520
Cleveland	$52,000	400
Akron	$37,000	230
Toledo	$56,000	180
Dayton	$43,000	140
Youngstown	$37,000	120
Canton	$38,000	80
Mansfield	$42,000	40

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$37,000	560
Tulsa	$41,000	470

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$45,000	1,190
Eugene	$48,000	150
Bend	$40,000	150
Salem	$45,000	120
Medford	$43,000	120

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Pittsburgh	$42,000	1,450
Philadelphia	$48,000	990
Allentown	$46,000	410
Harrisburg	$48,000	400
Reading	$42,000	200
Lancaster	$44,000	180
York	$41,000	180
Scranton	$36,000	160
Lebanon	$44,000	70
Johnstown	$49,000	50
Altoona	$42,000	40

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$45,000	150

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Greenville	$38,000	530
Columbia	$46,000	510
Charleston	$42,000	480
Spartanburg	$44,000	200
Florence	$44,000	120
Sumter	$31,000	50
Myrtle Beach	$36,000	40

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$39,000	230
Rapid City	$41,000	120

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashville	$38,000	650
Memphis	$40,000	620
Knoxville	$36,000	520
Chattanooga	$38,000	310
Johnson City	$35,000	70
Clarksville	$35,000	60

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Houston	$41,000	3,530
Texarkana	$42,000	1,730
Dallas	$40,000	1,550
San Antonio	$36,000	830
Fort Worth	$37,000	660
Longview	$35,000	580
Austin	$38,000	460
Corpus Christi	$34,000	410
Amarillo	$36,000	230
El Paso	$35,000	200
Odessa	$37,000	160
Killeen	$38,000	160
Beaumont	$37,000	130
Lubbock	$34,000	130
Waco	$36,000	100
Abilene	$26,000	100
Brownsville	$33,000	100
Mcallen	$31,000	90
Laredo	$26,000	70
Tyler	$35,000	60
College Station	$33,000	60
Sherman	$36,000	50

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Salt Lake City	$45,000	710
Ogden	$51,000	180
Provo	$44,000	80

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$41,000	110

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Virginia Beach	$42,000	760
Richmond	$41,000	760
Roanoke	$38,000	100
Lynchburg	$32,000	80
Winchester	$42,000	60
Harrisonburg	$34,000	40
Danville	$40,000	40

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Seattle	$57,000	1,200
Tacoma	$60,000	660
Spokane	$42,000	230
Bremerton	$50,000	180
Kennewick	$53,000	130
Bellingham	$42,000	60
Olympia	$43,000	50
Wenatchee	$35,000	50
Longview	$47,000	40

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charleston	$41,000	750
Huntington	$40,000	200
Wheeling	$37,000	140
Parkersburg	$38,000	100
Morgantown	$38,000	40

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Milwaukee	$48,000	1,200
Madison	$41,000	350
Green Bay	$42,000	250
Appleton	$44,000	150
Eau Claire	$44,000	100
Racine	$47,000	90
Wausau	$48,000	40
La Crosse	$41,000	40
Janesville	$43,000	40

Wyoming

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cheyenne	$45,000	80

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