TradeSalary

Diesel mechanic salary in Louisville, KY-IN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Diesel mechanics in the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN area earn a median of $61,310 a year, or $29.48 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $82,370 a year. That's 11% more than the Kentucky median of $55,480.

Median yearly pay$61,310
Bottom 10% under$43,680Top 10% over$82,370
Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
$21.00/hr
Jobs in this area
1,480
After cost of living
$65,870
Median hourly pay
$29.48/hr
vs U.S. median
−1%
vs Kentucky median
+11%
Mean (average) pay
$62,180 a year · $29.89 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 31140, Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN). Excludes self-employed diesel 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 diesel mechanics in Louisville, KY-IN 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$21.00$43,680
25th percentile$24.47$50,900
Median (50th)$29.48$61,310
75th percentile$34.47$71,690
90th percentile$39.60$82,370

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

How Louisville, KY-IN compares

  • Louisville ranks 3rd of 9 Kentucky metro areas for diesel mechanic pay.
  • Diesel mechanics are more concentrated in the Louisville area than nationally: 2.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Kentucky metro areas

Other trades in Louisville, KY-IN

Questions

Do diesel mechanics make more in Louisville or Paducah?
Paducah pays more: the median is $61,310 in Louisville and $78,900 in Paducah, a 22% difference.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-3031 (Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists), area code 31140 (Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN). 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 (93.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures