TradeSalary

HVAC technician salary in Houston, TX

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

HVAC technicians in the Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, TX area earn a median of $58,940 a year, or $28.34 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $83,120 a year. Statewide, HVAC technicians earn a median of $57,760; Houston is 2% above it.

Median yearly pay$58,940
Bottom 10% under$38,780Top 10% over$83,120
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$18.65/hr
Jobs in this area
7,680
After cost of living
$59,760
Median hourly pay
$28.34/hr
vs U.S. median
−3%
vs Texas median
+2%
Mean (average) pay
$60,390 a year · $29.03 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 26420, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX). 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 Houston, TX 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$18.65$38,780
25th percentile$22.61$47,040
Median (50th)$28.34$58,940
75th percentile$35.53$73,900
90th percentile$39.96$83,120

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

How Houston, TX compares

  • Houston ranks 3rd of 25 Texas metro areas for HVAC technician pay.
  • HVAC technicians are less concentrated in the Houston area than nationally: 2.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.89 times the U.S. share.

Other Texas metro areas

Other trades in Houston, TX

Questions

Do HVAC technicians make more in Houston or Austin?
Austin pays more: the median is $58,940 in Houston and $60,820 in Austin, a 3% 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 26420 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX). 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 (98.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures