TradeSalary

Diesel mechanic salary in Seattle, WA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Diesel mechanics in the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA area earn a median of $82,330 a year, or $39.58 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $115,550 a year. That's 6% more than the Washington median of $77,900.

Median yearly pay$82,330
Bottom 10% under$61,410Top 10% over$115,550
Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
$29.53/hr
Jobs in this area
3,740
After cost of living
$74,080
Median hourly pay
$39.58/hr
vs U.S. median
+33%
vs Washington median
+6%
Mean (average) pay
$84,730 a year · $40.74 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 42660, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA). 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 Seattle, WA 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$29.53$61,410
25th percentile$34.53$71,810
Median (50th)$39.58$82,330
75th percentile$46.73$97,190
90th percentile$55.56$115,550

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

How Seattle, WA compares

  • Seattle has the highest diesel mechanic median of the 13 Washington metro areas with published pay.
  • Diesel mechanics hold about the same share of jobs in the Seattle area as nationally: 1.8 of every 1,000 jobs.

Other Washington metro areas

Other trades in Seattle, WA

Questions

Do diesel mechanics make more in Seattle or Olympia?
Seattle pays more: the median is $82,330 in Seattle and $78,960 in Olympia, 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 49-3031 (Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists), area code 42660 (Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA). 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 (111.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures