TradeSalary

Diesel mechanic salary in Appleton, WI

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Diesel mechanics in the Appleton, WI area earn a median of $63,860 a year, or $30.70 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $80,150 a year. That's 2% more than the Wisconsin median of $62,450.

Median yearly pay$63,860
Bottom 10% under$44,320Top 10% over$80,150
Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
$21.31/hr
Jobs in this area
270
After cost of living
$69,100
Median hourly pay
$30.70/hr
vs U.S. median
+3%
vs Wisconsin median
+2%
Mean (average) pay
$64,310 a year · $30.92 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 11540, Appleton, WI). 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 Appleton, WI 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$21.31$44,320
25th percentile$25.37$52,770
Median (50th)$30.70$63,860
75th percentile$35.16$73,130
90th percentile$38.53$80,150

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

How Appleton, WI compares

  • Appleton ranks 6th of 15 Wisconsin metro areas for diesel mechanic pay.
  • Diesel mechanics are more concentrated in the Appleton area than nationally: 2.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Wisconsin metro areas

Other trades in Appleton, WI

Questions

Do diesel mechanics make more in Appleton or Minneapolis?
Minneapolis pays more: the median is $63,860 in Appleton and $73,730 in Minneapolis, a 13% 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 11540 (Appleton, WI). 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 (92.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures