TradeSalary

Diesel mechanic salary in Charlottesville, VA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Diesel mechanics in the Charlottesville, VA area earn a median of $62,060 a year, or $29.84 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $76,450. Across all of Virginia, the median is $61,090, so Charlottesville pays 2% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$62,060
Bottom 10% under$45,340Top 10% over$76,450
Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
$21.80/hr
Jobs in this area
130
After cost of living
$62,590
Median hourly pay
$29.84/hr
vs U.S. median
0%
vs Virginia median
+2%
Mean (average) pay
$61,310 a year · $29.48 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 16820, Charlottesville, VA). 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 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.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$21.80$45,340
25th percentile$24.90$51,780
Median (50th)$29.84$62,060
75th percentile$32.89$68,410
90th percentile$36.76$76,450

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 10 Virginia metro areas for diesel mechanic pay.
  • Diesel mechanics are less concentrated in the Charlottesville area than nationally: 1.1 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.61 times the U.S. share.

Other Virginia metro areas

Other trades in Charlottesville, VA

Questions

Do diesel mechanics make more in Charlottesville or Washington?
Washington pays more: the median is $62,060 in Charlottesville and $72,580 in Washington, a 14% 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 16820 (Charlottesville, VA). 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 (99.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures