Diesel mechanic salary in California
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Diesel mechanics in California earn a median of $73,950 a year, or $35.55 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $96,730 a year. That's 20% more than the national median of $61,770, 5th of 51 states and DC.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $22.68/hr
- Jobs in California
- 20,940
- After cost of living
- $66,790
- Median hourly pay
- $35.55/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +20%
- Rank among states
- 5th of 51
- Mean (average) pay
- $72,690 a year · $34.95 an hour
Pay by percentile
What diesel mechanics in California 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 | $22.68 | $47,180 |
| 25th percentile | $28.90 | $60,110 |
| Median (50th) | $35.55 | $73,950 |
| 75th percentile | $40.74 | $84,740 |
| 90th percentile | $46.50 | $96,730 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median diesel mechanic wage in California rose 22.1%, from $60,550 in May 2021 to $73,950 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 2.3%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $60,550 | $29.11/hr |
| May 2022 | $62,890 | $30.24/hr |
| May 2023 | $68,970 | $33.16/hr |
| May 2024 | $70,650 | $33.97/hr |
| May 2025 | $73,950 | $35.55/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How California compares
- Diesel mechanics are less concentrated in California than nationally: 1.1 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.62 times the U.S. share.
Pay by metro area
- San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara$88,980
- San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont$82,100
- Napa$78,070
- Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim$77,380
- Modesto$76,640
- Santa Cruz–Watsonville$75,670
- Vallejo$75,500
- San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad$75,070
See all California metro areas
- Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura$74,730
- San Luis Obispo–Paso Robles$74,620
- Sacramento–Roseville–Folsom$72,660
- Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario$71,300
- Stockton–Lodi$70,410
- El Centro$70,360
- Santa Maria–Santa Barbara$70,060
- Santa Rosa–Petaluma$68,410
- Visalia$66,610
- Redding$65,710
- Fresno$65,210
- Salinas$63,840
- Bakersfield–Delano$63,520
- Merced$62,970
- Yuba City$62,080
- Hanford–Corcoran$60,940
- Chico$55,770
Rural California
- North Valley-Northern Mountains Region$68,490
- Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region$64,660
- North Coast Region$62,650
Other trades in California
Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in California list what contractors must pay diesel mechanics on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.
Questions
- Where in California do diesel mechanics earn the most?
- Among California metro areas, San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara has the highest median at $88,980 a year, and Chico the lowest at $55,770.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-3031 (Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists), area code 06. BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed diesel 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 (110.7, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures