Do auto mechanics make more in Charlottesville or Washington?

Washington pays more: the median is $59,130 in Charlottesville and $61,860 in Washington, a 4% difference.

Auto mechanic salary in Charlottesville, VA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Auto mechanics in the Charlottesville, VA area earn a median of $59,130 a year, or $28.43 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $83,610 a year. Across all of Virginia, the median is $59,330, so Charlottesville pays about the same as the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$59,130

Bottom 10% under$36,980Top 10% over$83,610

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $17.78/hr
Jobs in this area: 430
After cost of living: $59,640
Median hourly pay: $28.43/hr
vs U.S. median: +17%
vs Virginia median: 0%
Mean (average) pay: $60,700 a year · $29.19 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 16820, Charlottesville, VA). 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 Charlottesville, VA 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	$17.78	$36,980
25th percentile	$21.65	$45,020
Median (50th)	$28.43	$59,130
75th percentile	$36.40	$75,710
90th percentile	$40.20	$83,610

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

How Charlottesville, VA compares

Charlottesville ranks 3rd of 11 Virginia metro areas for auto mechanic pay.
Auto mechanics are less concentrated in the Charlottesville area than nationally: 3.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.83 times the U.S. share.

Other Virginia metro areas

Other trades in Charlottesville, VA

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator

Questions

Do auto mechanics make more in Charlottesville or Washington?: Washington pays more: the median is $59,130 in Charlottesville and $61,860 in Washington, a 4% 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 16820 (Charlottesville, VA). 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 (99.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures