Auto mechanic salary in Trenton, NJ
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Auto mechanics in the Trenton–Princeton, NJ area earn a median of $56,550 a year, or $27.19 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $82,030. Across all of New Jersey, the median is $56,610, so Trenton pays about the same as the state as a whole.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $17.85/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 800
- After cost of living
- $54,810
- Median hourly pay
- $27.19/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +12%
- vs New Jersey median
- 0%
- Mean (average) pay
- $58,380 a year · $28.07 an hour
Pay by percentile
What auto mechanics in Trenton, NJ 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.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.85 | $37,130 |
| 25th percentile | $21.13 | $43,940 |
| Median (50th) | $27.19 | $56,550 |
| 75th percentile | $34.57 | $71,910 |
| 90th percentile | $39.44 | $82,030 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
How Trenton, NJ compares
- Trenton ranks 4th of 6 New Jersey metro areas for auto mechanic pay.
- Auto mechanics are less concentrated in the Trenton area than nationally: 3.4 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.74 times the U.S. share.
Other New Jersey metro areas
Other trades in Trenton, NJ
Questions
- Do auto mechanics make more in Trenton or Philadelphia?
- Philadelphia pays more: the median is $56,550 in Trenton and $58,460 in Philadelphia, a 3% 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 45940 (Trenton-Princeton, NJ). 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 (103.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures