TradeSalary

Auto mechanic salary in Joplin, MO-KS

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Auto mechanics in the Joplin, MO-KS area earn a median of $46,320 a year, or $22.27 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $72,860 a year. Statewide, auto mechanics earn a median of $49,160; Joplin is 6% below it.

Median yearly pay$46,320
Bottom 10% under$30,350Top 10% over$72,860
Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
$14.59/hr
Jobs in this area
590
After cost of living
$54,040
Median hourly pay
$22.27/hr
vs U.S. median
−8%
vs Missouri median
−6%
Mean (average) pay
$48,280 a year · $23.21 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 27900, Joplin, MO-KS). Excludes self-employed auto mechanics. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What auto mechanics in Joplin, MO-KS earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$14.59$30,350
25th percentile$17.57$36,550
Median (50th)$22.27$46,320
75th percentile$28.30$58,870
90th percentile$35.03$72,860

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How Joplin, MO-KS compares

  • Joplin has the lowest auto mechanic median of the 8 Missouri metro areas with published pay.
  • Auto mechanics are more concentrated in the Joplin area than nationally: 6.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.5 times the U.S. share.

Other Missouri metro areas

Other trades in Joplin, MO-KS

Questions

Do auto mechanics make more in Joplin or St. Louis?
St. Louis pays more: the median is $46,320 in Joplin and $58,190 in St. Louis, a 20% difference.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-3023 (Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics), area code 27900 (Joplin, MO-KS). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed auto mechanics and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (85.7, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures