Diesel mechanic salary in Kalamazoo, MI
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Diesel mechanics in the Kalamazoo–Portage, MI area earn a median of $60,200 a year, or $28.94 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $78,190. That's 2% less than the Michigan median of $61,420.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $21.96/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 230
- After cost of living
- $63,480
- Median hourly pay
- $28.94/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −3%
- vs Michigan median
- −2%
- Mean (average) pay
- $59,770 a year · $28.73 an hour
Pay by percentile
What diesel mechanics in Kalamazoo, MI 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 | $21.96 | $45,680 |
| 25th percentile | $23.68 | $49,250 |
| Median (50th) | $28.94 | $60,200 |
| 75th percentile | $30.91 | $64,290 |
| 90th percentile | $37.59 | $78,190 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
How Kalamazoo, MI compares
- Kalamazoo ranks 10th of 16 Michigan metro areas for diesel mechanic pay.
- Diesel mechanics hold about the same share of jobs in the Kalamazoo area as nationally: 1.9 of every 1,000 jobs.
Other Michigan metro areas
Other trades in Kalamazoo, MI
Questions
- Do diesel mechanics make more in Kalamazoo or Ann Arbor?
- Ann Arbor pays more: the median is $60,200 in Kalamazoo and $65,770 in Ann Arbor, a 8% 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 28020 (Kalamazoo-Portage, MI). 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 (94.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures