TradeSalary

HVAC technician salary in Richmond, VA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

HVAC technicians in the Richmond, VA area earn a median of $59,130 a year, or $28.43 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $78,620. Across all of Virginia, the median is $59,730, so Richmond pays 1% less than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$59,130
Bottom 10% under$38,270Top 10% over$78,620
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$18.40/hr
Jobs in this area
2,700
After cost of living
$60,420
Median hourly pay
$28.43/hr
vs U.S. median
−3%
vs Virginia median
−1%
Mean (average) pay
$58,490 a year · $28.12 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 40060, Richmond, VA). 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 Richmond, 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$18.40$38,270
25th percentile$22.70$47,220
Median (50th)$28.43$59,130
75th percentile$31.59$65,710
90th percentile$37.80$78,620

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

How Richmond, VA compares

  • Richmond ranks 6th of 11 Virginia metro areas for HVAC technician pay.
  • HVAC technicians are more concentrated in the Richmond area than nationally: 4.1 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.6 times the U.S. share.

Other Virginia metro areas

Other trades in Richmond, VA

Questions

Do HVAC technicians make more in Richmond or Washington?
Washington pays more: the median is $59,130 in Richmond and $71,920 in Washington, a 18% 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 40060 (Richmond, VA). 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 (97.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures