TradeSalary

HVAC technician salary in Winston, NC

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

HVAC technicians in the Winston–Salem, NC area earn a median of $55,360 a year, or $26.61 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $74,610. Statewide, HVAC technicians earn a median of $57,260; Winston is 3% below it.

Median yearly pay$55,360
Bottom 10% under$37,770Top 10% over$74,610
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$18.16/hr
Jobs in this area
700
After cost of living
$60,150
Median hourly pay
$26.61/hr
vs U.S. median
−9%
vs North Carolina median
−3%
Mean (average) pay
$55,660 a year · $26.76 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 49180, Winston-Salem, NC). Excludes self-employed HVAC technicians. 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 HVAC technicians in Winston, NC 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$18.16$37,770
25th percentile$22.12$46,010
Median (50th)$26.61$55,360
75th percentile$29.26$60,850
90th percentile$35.87$74,610

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

How Winston, NC compares

  • Winston ranks 9th of 16 North Carolina metro areas for HVAC technician pay.
  • HVAC technicians hold about the same share of jobs in the Winston area as nationally: 2.6 of every 1,000 jobs.

Other North Carolina metro areas

Other trades in Winston, NC

Questions

Do HVAC technicians make more in Winston or Charlotte?
Charlotte pays more: the median is $55,360 in Winston and $59,840 in Charlotte, a 7% difference.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-9021 (Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers), area code 49180 (Winston-Salem, NC). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed HVAC technicians 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 (92.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures