Reference

Auto repair labor rates by state

The average auto repair labor rate in the United States is about $81 per hour, ranging from roughly $64 an hour in West Virginia to about $98 in District of Columbia. Below is every state, with the technician wage each figure is built from and how we derived it.

Updated August 2026 · Source: BLS OES 49-3023, May 2025 release

$81/hrNational average rate

$27.13/hrMean technician wage (BLS)

704,640Technicians employed nationally

Auto repair labor rates by state, August 2026. Technician wages are BLS survey figures; door rates are derived from them.
		Typical range
Alabama	$74	$61–$86	$24.53	9,040
Alaska	$95	$79–$110	$31.55	1,420
Arizona	$80	$67–$94	$26.77	16,400
Arkansas	$70	$58–$81	$23.28	7,310
California	$94	$79–$110	$31.47	65,420
Colorado	$92	$77–$108	$30.76	12,300
Connecticut	$87	$72–$101	$28.92	6,960
Delaware	$84	$70–$98	$28.12	1,910
District of Columbia	$98	$82–$114	$32.65	310
Florida	$78	$65–$90	$25.84	49,930
Georgia	$82	$68–$95	$27.21	22,070
Hawaii	$81	$68–$95	$27.01	2,710
Idaho	$78	$65–$91	$25.96	5,030
Illinois	$82	$68–$95	$27.25	29,510
Indiana	$77	$65–$90	$25.82	16,480
Iowa	$80	$66–$93	$26.59	7,610
Kansas	$76	$63–$89	$25.37	6,240
Kentucky	$69	$58–$81	$23.07	11,140
Louisiana	$73	$61–$85	$24.35	8,620
Maine	$80	$66–$93	$26.54	3,390
Maryland	$86	$71–$100	$28.55	14,230
Massachusetts	$91	$76–$106	$30.27	12,710
Michigan	$81	$68–$95	$27.16	22,280
Minnesota	$86	$71–$100	$28.51	11,980
Mississippi	$66	$55–$77	$21.95	7,410
Missouri	$78	$65–$91	$25.94	17,210
Montana	$86	$71–$100	$28.51	2,900
Nebraska	$80	$67–$93	$26.65	4,560
Nevada	$81	$67–$94	$26.97	7,420
New Hampshire	$88	$73–$102	$29.18	4,840
New Jersey	$85	$71–$99	$28.28	17,640
New Mexico	$75	$62–$87	$24.90	5,080
New York	$85	$71–$99	$28.42	32,020
North Carolina	$77	$64–$90	$25.72	26,510
North Dakota	$84	$70–$98	$27.88	2,140
Ohio	$79	$66–$92	$26.24	22,640
Oklahoma	$75	$63–$88	$25.04	8,870
Oregon	$91	$76–$106	$30.39	6,990
Pennsylvania	$78	$65–$91	$26.13	29,400
Rhode Island	$78	$65–$91	$26.11	2,530
South Carolina	$76	$63–$88	$25.20	13,420
South Dakota	$80	$67–$94	$26.76	2,010
Tennessee	$79	$66–$92	$26.25	16,210
Texas	$76	$64–$89	$25.47	69,750
Utah	$75	$62–$87	$24.85	9,350
Vermont	$84	$70–$98	$27.90	1,610
Virginia	$89	$74–$104	$29.62	17,880
Washington	$90	$75–$105	$30.03	12,930
West Virginia	$64	$53–$74	$21.19	4,490
Wisconsin	$82	$68–$96	$27.35	12,270
Wyoming	$80	$66–$93	$26.59	1,560

How these numbers were produced. The technician wage and employment columns are real survey figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, occupation code 49-3023, May 2025 release. The door rates are derived, not surveyed: no public survey of posted shop labor rates exists, so we apply the industry rule of thumb that a shop's posted rate runs about 3× what it pays the technician, with the range bracketed at 2.5× and 3.5×. We publish the multiplier rather than hiding it so you can recompute from the BLS wage if you would use a different one.

Your posted rate is not your real rate

What you charge per hour and what you actually collect per hour are different numbers, and the gap is discounting, comebacks, and time nobody billed. MyAutoShopPro reports your effective labor rate from the work you actually invoiced, per technician and per job type, so you can see where the posted rate is leaking before you decide whether to raise it.

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The national figure is useful for orientation and almost useless for setting your own rate. What matters is your state's technician wage, what you are competing against locally, and how far your market sits from its own metro. Each state below shows the derived range and the wage behind it.

Auto repair labor rates in Alabama

Average rate: $74/hr
Typical range: $61–$86/hr
Technician wage: $24.53/hr
vs. national: −$7

Alabama technicians average $24.53 an hour, about $2.60 under the national figure, and posted rates follow it down. The state's large assembly-plant footprint around Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery pulls experienced technicians toward manufacturing and dealer work, so independents competing for the same people often pay above the state mean even while posting a rate below the national one.

Auto repair labor rates in Alaska

Average rate: $95/hr
Typical range: $79–$110/hr
Technician wage: $31.55/hr
vs. national: +$14

At $31.55 an hour, Alaska pays technicians more than all but a handful of states, and its derived door rate of about $95 sits $14 above the national average. Almost everything a shop consumes arrives by barge or plane, which lands on parts pricing and on the cost of keeping a building heated through the winter. With only 1,420 technicians statewide, a shop that loses one is often looking outside Alaska to replace them.

Auto repair labor rates in Arizona

Average rate: $80/hr
Typical range: $67–$94/hr
Technician wage: $26.77/hr
vs. national: −$1

Arizona sits almost exactly at the national average, with technicians at $26.77 an hour and a derived rate near $80. Phoenix and Tucson carry most of the state's 16,400 technicians and price close to the national norm; rural northern Arizona runs lower. Heat is the local variable. Cooling systems, batteries and air conditioning work is year-round volume rather than seasonal, which changes the mix a shop plans staffing around.

Auto repair labor rates in Arkansas

Average rate: $70/hr
Typical range: $58–$81/hr
Technician wage: $23.28/hr
vs. national: −$11

Arkansas has one of the lowest technician wages in the country at $23.28 an hour, giving a derived door rate near $70, roughly $11 below the national figure. Low building and living costs make that workable in a way it would not be on either coast. The practical constraint is thin population outside the Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas corridors, where a shop's rate is set less by its cost structure than by the two other shops in town.

Auto repair labor rates in California

Average rate: $94/hr
Typical range: $79–$110/hr
Technician wage: $31.47/hr
vs. national: +$13

California employs 65,420 technicians, second only to Texas, and pays them $31.47 an hour, producing a derived rate around $94. Rates diverge sharply inside the state: the Bay Area and coastal Southern California run well above that figure while the Central Valley runs below it. California also has the country's most demanding repair regulations: the Bureau of Automotive Repair requires written estimates and a fresh authorization before exceeding them, and shops must be BAR-registered, with separate licensing for smog work.

Auto repair labor rates in Colorado

Average rate: $92/hr
Typical range: $77–$108/hr
Technician wage: $30.76/hr
vs. national: +$11

Colorado technicians earn $30.76 an hour, about $3.60 above the national mean, giving a derived rate near $92. Front Range housing costs are the main reason: a shop in Denver or Boulder is competing for technicians against a cost of living that has moved faster than wages. Mountain-town shops post higher still, on short seasons and steep occupancy costs, while the Eastern Plains look closer to Kansas.

Auto repair labor rates in Connecticut

Average rate: $87/hr
Typical range: $72–$101/hr
Technician wage: $28.92/hr
vs. national: +$6

At $28.92 an hour, Connecticut runs about $1.80 above the national technician wage, for a derived rate near $87. The state's dense, affluent corridor between New Haven and the New York line supports rates at the top of that range, and the vehicle mix skews toward European makes that justify them. Winter road salt is the reliable volume driver, keeping brake and underbody work steady in a way southern states do not see.

Auto repair labor rates in Delaware

Average rate: $84/hr
Typical range: $70–$98/hr
Technician wage: $28.12/hr
vs. national: +$3

Delaware's 1,910 technicians average $28.12 an hour, giving a derived rate around $84. The state is small enough that it functions as part of the Philadelphia and Baltimore markets rather than as its own, and rates in northern New Castle County reflect that. No sales tax means the price a customer sees on a parts line is the price they pay, which removes a conversation shops in neighboring states have every day.

Auto repair labor rates in District of Columbia

Average rate: $98/hr
Typical range: $82–$114/hr
Technician wage: $32.65/hr
vs. national: +$17

The District posts the highest technician wage in the country at $32.65 an hour, and a derived rate near $98, but with only 310 technicians it is the smallest market on this list by a wide margin. Commercial rent and the scarcity of properly zoned service space are doing most of the work here. Many shops serving DC residents physically sit in Maryland or Virginia, which is why the District's own numbers describe a narrower slice of the market than the figure suggests.

Auto repair labor rates in Florida

Average rate: $78/hr
Typical range: $65–$90/hr
Technician wage: $25.84/hr
vs. national: −$3

Florida's 49,930 technicians average $25.84 an hour, a little under the national mean, for a derived rate near $78. The state's size hides real variation: Miami, Naples and the Keys support rates well above that, while much of the Panhandle and interior runs below. Florida generally does not tax repair labor, though parts are taxable, so getting the split right on the invoice matters more here than in states that tax both.

Auto repair labor rates in Georgia

Average rate: $82/hr
Typical range: $68–$95/hr
Technician wage: $27.21/hr
vs. national: +$1

Georgia technicians earn $27.21 an hour, marginally above the national figure, giving a derived rate near $82. Metro Atlanta holds most of the state's 22,070 technicians and sets the ceiling; rates fall off quickly outside the perimeter. Atlanta's commute distances are the underlying economic fact for shops here, because high annual mileage per vehicle means maintenance intervals come around faster than the national average.

Auto repair labor rates in Hawaii

Average rate: $81/hr
Typical range: $68–$95/hr
Technician wage: $27.01/hr
vs. national: +$0

Hawaii's technician wage of $27.01 sits almost exactly at the national average, which is misleading, because nothing else about operating a shop there is average. Every part crosses an ocean, commercial space is scarce and expensive, and inter-island logistics add cost that never appears in a wage figure. Real posted rates commonly run above the $81 this derivation produces, and the gap is a fair illustration of why the multiplier is a starting point rather than an answer.

Auto repair labor rates in Idaho

Average rate: $78/hr
Typical range: $65–$91/hr
Technician wage: $25.96/hr
vs. national: −$3

Idaho technicians average $25.96 an hour, giving a derived rate around $78. The Boise metro has grown fast enough that shop rates there have moved ahead of the rest of the state, tracking the in-migration that reshaped local housing costs. Outside the Treasure Valley, rural Idaho shops handle a heavier mix of trucks, agricultural vehicles and older vehicles kept running well past the point a city customer would replace them.

Auto repair labor rates in Illinois

Average rate: $82/hr
Typical range: $68–$95/hr
Technician wage: $27.25/hr
vs. national: +$1

Illinois runs just above the national technician wage at $27.25 an hour, for a derived rate near $82. The state is really two markets: Chicago and its collar counties, where rates and costs both run high, and downstate, where a shop's overhead more closely resembles Missouri's. Salt exposure gives northern Illinois shops steady brake, exhaust and suspension volume that shops in the South never see.

Auto repair labor rates in Indiana

Average rate: $77/hr
Typical range: $65–$90/hr
Technician wage: $25.82/hr
vs. national: −$4

Indiana technicians average $25.82 an hour, a little under the national mean, giving a derived rate around $77. The state's automotive manufacturing base competes directly with independent shops for skilled people, which is why wages sit higher than the state's low cost of living alone would suggest. Indianapolis anchors the higher end; the rest of the state prices below it.

Auto repair labor rates in Iowa

Average rate: $80/hr
Typical range: $66–$93/hr
Technician wage: $26.59/hr
vs. national: −$1

Iowa's technician wage of $26.59 lands just under the national figure, for a derived rate near $80, a number that looks unremarkable until you account for how cheap it is to operate a building here relative to the coasts. Farm-country shops carry a heavier truck and equipment mix, and the winters that make salt corrosion a fixture of Iowa repair work also make heated shop space a permanent line on the P&L.

Auto repair labor rates in Kansas

Average rate: $76/hr
Typical range: $63–$89/hr
Technician wage: $25.37/hr
vs. national: −$5

Kansas technicians earn $25.37 an hour, about $1.75 below the national mean, giving a derived rate around $76. The Wichita and Kansas City metros hold most of the state's 6,240 technicians; western Kansas is thin enough that a shop may be the only one for a considerable distance, which cuts both ways. There is no local price pressure, but also no depth of customer base to absorb a slow month.

Auto repair labor rates in Kentucky

Average rate: $69/hr
Typical range: $58–$81/hr
Technician wage: $23.07/hr
vs. national: −$12

At $23.07 an hour, Kentucky has one of the lowest technician wages in the country, producing a derived rate near $69, roughly $12 under the national figure. That sits oddly beside the state's substantial vehicle manufacturing presence, which does pay well. The effect is a wide internal spread, where a Louisville or Lexington shop competing against plant wages pays far more than the state mean implies.

Auto repair labor rates in Louisiana

Average rate: $73/hr
Typical range: $61–$85/hr
Technician wage: $24.35/hr
vs. national: −$8

Louisiana technicians average $24.35 an hour, giving a derived rate near $73. Humidity and coastal air accelerate corrosion in ways that show up as real work. Electrical faults, brake lines, and underbody components fail earlier here than in dry states. Storm seasons produce their own cycles: flood-damaged vehicles and the diagnostic time they consume are a recurring feature of the business rather than an exception.

Auto repair labor rates in Maine

Average rate: $80/hr
Typical range: $66–$93/hr
Technician wage: $26.54/hr
vs. national: −$1

Maine's technician wage of $26.54 sits just below the national mean, for a derived rate around $80. Two local factors push against that: heavy winter salt use, which drives consistent underbody and brake work, and an older vehicle fleet that customers keep running longer than the national average. Maine also runs an annual state safety inspection, which puts a predictable floor under shop traffic that most states lack.

Auto repair labor rates in Maryland

Average rate: $86/hr
Typical range: $71–$100/hr
Technician wage: $28.55/hr
vs. national: +$5

Maryland technicians earn $28.55 an hour, about $1.40 above the national figure, giving a derived rate near $86. The Washington and Baltimore suburbs carry the state's rates, and Maryland's safety inspection requirement on vehicle transfer creates steady, predictable volume for shops licensed to perform it, a meaningful revenue stream that does not exist in states without the requirement.

Auto repair labor rates in Massachusetts

Average rate: $91/hr
Typical range: $76–$106/hr
Technician wage: $30.27/hr
vs. national: +$10

At $30.27 an hour, Massachusetts is among the top-paying states for technicians, giving a derived rate near $91. Commercial real estate around Boston is the dominant cost driver, and it is why shops inside Route 128 post rates well above what the state figure suggests. Massachusetts also has the country's most aggressive right-to-repair law, which has real consequences for independent shops' access to vehicle data and telematics.

Auto repair labor rates in Michigan

Average rate: $81/hr
Typical range: $68–$95/hr
Technician wage: $27.16/hr
vs. national: +$0

Michigan sits essentially at the national technician wage at $27.16 an hour, for a derived rate near $81. Given the state's automotive engineering density that looks low, and the reason is competition running the other way: the industry absorbs experienced people into engineering, testing and manufacturing roles, leaving independents recruiting from a pool that is deep in knowledge but shallow in availability. Road salt keeps rust repair a permanent category here.

Auto repair labor rates in Minnesota

Average rate: $86/hr
Typical range: $71–$100/hr
Technician wage: $28.51/hr
vs. national: +$5

Minnesota technicians average $28.51 an hour, about $1.40 above the national mean, giving a derived rate near $86. Winter is the operating variable that matters: shops need genuinely heated bays for months at a time, batteries and starting systems fail on schedule every January, and salt corrosion drives a brake and exhaust workload that southern shops simply do not carry.

Auto repair labor rates in Mississippi

Average rate: $66/hr
Typical range: $55–$77/hr
Technician wage: $21.95/hr
vs. national: −$15

Mississippi has the lowest technician wage in the country at $21.95 an hour, producing a derived door rate near $66, about $15 under the national figure. Living and building costs are correspondingly low, which is what makes it viable. The harder problem for shops here is depth of labor supply: at these wages, retaining a technician who earns an advanced certification against offers from higher-paying neighboring states is a persistent challenge.

Auto repair labor rates in Missouri

Average rate: $78/hr
Typical range: $65–$91/hr
Technician wage: $25.94/hr
vs. national: −$3

Missouri technicians earn $25.94 an hour, slightly below the national mean, giving a derived rate around $78. St. Louis and Kansas City hold most of the state's 17,210 technicians and set the upper end, with rural Missouri running noticeably lower. Missouri requires a biennial safety inspection on many vehicles, which gives licensed shops a recurring reason for customers to come through the door.

Auto repair labor rates in Montana

Average rate: $86/hr
Typical range: $71–$100/hr
Technician wage: $28.51/hr
vs. national: +$5

Montana's technician wage of $28.51 is higher than its cost of living would predict, and the derived rate near $86 reflects genuine scarcity: 2,900 technicians spread across the fourth-largest state by area. Distance is the economic fact here. Customers drive substantial miles for service, vehicles accumulate mileage fast, and a shop's nearest competitor may be an hour away, which supports rates that a denser market would not.

Auto repair labor rates in Nebraska

Average rate: $80/hr
Typical range: $67–$93/hr
Technician wage: $26.65/hr
vs. national: −$1

Nebraska technicians average $26.65 an hour, just under the national figure, for a derived rate around $80. Omaha and Lincoln account for most of the state's 4,560 technicians. Outside them, agricultural work reshapes the mix: heavier trucks, seasonal demand peaks tied to planting and harvest, and customers whose vehicles cannot be off the road during the weeks that matter most.

Auto repair labor rates in Nevada

Average rate: $81/hr
Typical range: $67–$94/hr
Technician wage: $26.97/hr
vs. national: +$0

Nevada lands almost exactly at the national technician wage at $26.97 an hour, giving a derived rate near $81. Las Vegas dominates the state's 7,420 technicians, and its extreme summer heat produces reliable cooling-system, battery and air-conditioning volume. Nevada's emissions program in the Las Vegas and Reno areas gives licensed shops recurring inspection traffic that shops elsewhere in the state do not get.

Auto repair labor rates in New Hampshire

Average rate: $88/hr
Typical range: $73–$102/hr
Technician wage: $29.18/hr
vs. national: +$7

New Hampshire technicians earn $29.18 an hour, about $2 above the national mean, for a derived rate near $88. Proximity to the Boston labor market is the main reason. A shop in Nashua or Salem is competing for technicians who can reasonably commute to Massachusetts wages. New Hampshire's annual safety inspection requirement gives shops a predictable recurring touchpoint with every registered vehicle in the state.

Auto repair labor rates in New Jersey

Average rate: $85/hr
Typical range: $71–$99/hr
Technician wage: $28.28/hr
vs. national: +$4

New Jersey's 17,640 technicians average $28.28 an hour, a little over a dollar above the national figure, giving a derived rate near $85. Density is the defining feature: land is expensive, bays are scarce, and shops rarely have room to expand, so throughput per bay matters more here than in almost any other state. Northern New Jersey rates track the New York metro closely; South Jersey looks more like Philadelphia.

Auto repair labor rates in New Mexico

Average rate: $75/hr
Typical range: $62–$87/hr
Technician wage: $24.90/hr
vs. national: −$6

New Mexico technicians average $24.90 an hour, about $2.20 under the national mean, giving a derived rate near $75. Albuquerque and Santa Fe hold most of the state's 5,080 technicians; elsewhere the population is thin and distances long. Dry high-desert conditions are unusually kind to bodywork and brake lines, but hard on rubber, plastics and paint, which shifts the repair mix toward components that heat and UV exposure destroy.

Auto repair labor rates in New York

Average rate: $85/hr
Typical range: $71–$99/hr
Technician wage: $28.42/hr
vs. national: +$4

New York's technician wage of $28.42 runs about $1.30 above the national mean, for a derived rate near $85, a figure that badly understates New York City itself, where commercial rent puts posted rates far higher, and overstates much of upstate. New York requires an annual safety and emissions inspection statewide, which gives every licensed shop a guaranteed annual reason to see each customer.

Auto repair labor rates in North Carolina

Average rate: $77/hr
Typical range: $64–$90/hr
Technician wage: $25.72/hr
vs. national: −$4

North Carolina employs 26,510 technicians at an average of $25.72 an hour, giving a derived rate around $77. The Charlotte and Research Triangle metros have grown quickly enough that shop rates there have pulled ahead of the state figure, while the coastal plain and mountain counties run below it. Emissions inspections are required in a subset of counties rather than statewide, so a shop's inspection revenue depends heavily on which county it sits in.

Auto repair labor rates in North Dakota

Average rate: $84/hr
Typical range: $70–$98/hr
Technician wage: $27.88/hr
vs. national: +$3

North Dakota technicians average $27.88 an hour, above the national mean, which is a direct consequence of energy-sector competition: oilfield employers in the western part of the state hire from the same pool of mechanically skilled people and pay well. The derived rate near $84 reflects that pressure. With only 2,140 technicians statewide, a single shop losing two people is a meaningful share of a local market.

Auto repair labor rates in Ohio

Average rate: $79/hr
Typical range: $66–$92/hr
Technician wage: $26.24/hr
vs. national: −$2

Ohio technicians earn $26.24 an hour, just under the national figure, for a derived rate near $79. The state's 22,640 technicians are spread relatively evenly across Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and a substantial number of mid-sized cities, which produces less internal rate variation than states dominated by a single metro. Winter salt keeps underbody and brake work a steady year-round category.

Auto repair labor rates in Oklahoma

Average rate: $75/hr
Typical range: $63–$88/hr
Technician wage: $25.04/hr
vs. national: −$6

Oklahoma technicians average $25.04 an hour, about $2.10 below the national mean, giving a derived rate near $75. Low operating costs make that sustainable. Energy-sector employment competes for the same mechanically skilled workforce, so a shop's real wage bill often tracks oilfield hiring more closely than it tracks the local cost of living. Hail is the other local constant, and it drives seasonal body and glass volume.

Auto repair labor rates in Oregon

Average rate: $91/hr
Typical range: $76–$106/hr
Technician wage: $30.39/hr
vs. national: +$10

Oregon technicians earn $30.39 an hour, more than $3 above the national mean, for a derived rate near $91. Portland metro costs drive most of that. Oregon has no sales tax, so parts pricing is simpler to present than in neighboring Washington, and the state's damp climate favors rust prevention and undercarriage work over the heat-related failures that dominate the Southwest.

Auto repair labor rates in Pennsylvania

Average rate: $78/hr
Typical range: $65–$91/hr
Technician wage: $26.13/hr
vs. national: −$3

Pennsylvania's 29,400 technicians average $26.13 an hour, a little below the national figure, giving a derived rate near $78. That average spans a wide range, from Philadelphia's metro rates down to rural counties in the center of the state. Pennsylvania requires an annual safety inspection statewide, plus emissions testing in more populated counties, which makes inspection work a dependable component of shop revenue here.

Auto repair labor rates in Rhode Island

Average rate: $78/hr
Typical range: $65–$91/hr
Technician wage: $26.11/hr
vs. national: −$3

Rhode Island technicians average $26.11 an hour, slightly under the national mean, for a derived rate near $78, surprisingly modest for a Northeast state, and a reflection of the fact that the state's cost structure sits below its Massachusetts and Connecticut neighbours. With 2,530 technicians in the smallest state by area, shops here compete within a tight radius, and price visibility between them is unusually high.

Auto repair labor rates in South Carolina

Average rate: $76/hr
Typical range: $63–$88/hr
Technician wage: $25.20/hr
vs. national: −$5

South Carolina technicians average $25.20 an hour, about $1.90 below the national figure, giving a derived rate near $76. Growth around Charleston and Greenville has pulled rates in those markets above the state number, helped by an expanding manufacturing base that competes for the same skilled labor. Coastal humidity and salt air accelerate corrosion in the Lowcountry in ways inland shops do not deal with.

Auto repair labor rates in South Dakota

Average rate: $80/hr
Typical range: $67–$94/hr
Technician wage: $26.76/hr
vs. national: −$1

South Dakota's 2,010 technicians average $26.76 an hour, just below the national mean, for a derived rate around $80. Low building and living costs make that work comfortably. Distance defines the market outside Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Customers travel for service, farm and truck work is a substantial share of the mix, and severe winters make heated shop capacity a requirement rather than a comfort.

Auto repair labor rates in Tennessee

Average rate: $79/hr
Typical range: $66–$92/hr
Technician wage: $26.25/hr
vs. national: −$2

Tennessee technicians earn $26.25 an hour, marginally under the national figure, giving a derived rate near $79. Nashville's growth has moved rates there ahead of the rest of the state, and the automotive manufacturing presence around Smyrna and Chattanooga competes for skilled technicians in a way that props up wages regionally. Tennessee has no state income tax, which affects take-home pay and therefore what a shop must offer to recruit.

Auto repair labor rates in Texas

Average rate: $76/hr
Typical range: $64–$89/hr
Technician wage: $25.47/hr
vs. national: −$5

Texas employs 69,750 automotive technicians, more than any other state, at an average of $25.47 an hour, about $1.65 below the national mean, for a derived rate near $76. Scale keeps rates competitive: Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin each support enough shops that price pressure is real. Texas taxes labor differently depending on how the repair is billed, which makes getting parts and labor split correctly on the invoice more consequential here than in most states.

Auto repair labor rates in Utah

Average rate: $75/hr
Typical range: $62–$87/hr
Technician wage: $24.85/hr
vs. national: −$6

Utah technicians average $24.85 an hour, about $2.30 under the national mean, giving a derived rate near $75, noticeably low for a state whose housing costs have risen as fast as Utah's. The gap is worth watching, because it is the kind of pressure that resolves through wage increases rather than through technicians accepting it. Emissions testing in the Wasatch Front counties gives shops there recurring inspection traffic.

Auto repair labor rates in Vermont

Average rate: $84/hr
Typical range: $70–$98/hr
Technician wage: $27.90/hr
vs. national: +$3

Vermont's 1,610 technicians average $27.90 an hour, above the national mean, giving a derived rate near $84. Scarcity does most of that work: this is one of the smallest technician workforces in the country, spread across a rural state. Vermont requires an annual safety inspection, and the combination of hard winters, heavy salt use and an older vehicle fleet makes rust repair a larger share of the workload than almost anywhere else.

Auto repair labor rates in Virginia

Average rate: $89/hr
Typical range: $74–$104/hr
Technician wage: $29.62/hr
vs. national: +$8

Virginia technicians earn $29.62 an hour, roughly $2.50 above the national figure, for a derived rate near $89. The Northern Virginia suburbs pull that average up substantially; Southwest Virginia runs well below it. Virginia requires an annual safety inspection statewide, with emissions testing added in the Northern Virginia counties, so licensed shops have a guaranteed annual appointment with every vehicle they serve.

Auto repair labor rates in Washington

Average rate: $90/hr
Typical range: $75–$105/hr
Technician wage: $30.03/hr
vs. national: +$9

Washington technicians average $30.03 an hour, nearly $3 above the national mean, giving a derived rate near $90. Seattle-area costs drive most of it, and the gap between Puget Sound rates and those in Eastern Washington is one of the widest intrastate spreads in the country. Washington has no state income tax but does tax services in ways that catch shops out, so how a repair is invoiced has direct tax consequences.

Auto repair labor rates in West Virginia

Average rate: $64/hr
Typical range: $53–$74/hr
Technician wage: $21.19/hr
vs. national: −$17

West Virginia has the second-lowest technician wage in the country at $21.19 an hour, producing a derived rate near $64, the lowest on this list and roughly $17 below the national figure. Very low building and living costs are what make it viable. Mountain terrain is hard on brakes, suspension and drivetrains, which means the work itself is not any easier than in states paying half again as much.

Auto repair labor rates in Wisconsin

Average rate: $82/hr
Typical range: $68–$96/hr
Technician wage: $27.35/hr
vs. national: +$1

Wisconsin technicians earn $27.35 an hour, marginally above the national mean, for a derived rate near $82. Milwaukee and Madison set the upper end. The state's winters are the operating reality: heated bays for a long season, salt-driven corrosion work as a permanent category, and a January spike in batteries and starting systems that shops here staff for rather than react to.

Auto repair labor rates in Wyoming

Average rate: $80/hr
Typical range: $66–$93/hr
Technician wage: $26.59/hr
vs. national: −$1

Wyoming has the smallest technician workforce of any state at 1,560, paid an average of $26.59 an hour, for a derived rate near $80. Energy-sector employers compete directly for mechanically skilled workers, which holds wages up against a low cost of living. Enormous distances between towns mean many shops face little direct local competition, but also that a customer breakdown is a genuinely serious event, which puts a premium on turning work around quickly.

How to set your shop's labor rate

Nothing on this page tells you what to charge. State averages describe where the market has landed; they do not know your rent, your technician payroll, or how many hours you actually sell in a week. Use them to sanity-check a number you calculated, not to replace the calculation.

The calculation itself is short. Over a year, total up:

Fixed overhead: rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, software, equipment payments, marketing.
Non-billable payroll: service writers, the front counter, whoever runs the office, and the portion of your own time that is not turning wrenches.
Technician payroll: wages plus payroll taxes plus benefits, which typically adds 20 to 30 percent on top of the wage itself.
Profit: a deliberate number you decide, not whatever happens to be left over.

Then divide by billable hours, and be honest about that figure. A technician present 2,000 hours a year does not sell 2,000 hours. Between waiting on parts, cleanup, comebacks, and the gaps between jobs, 70 to 80 percent is a realistic sold-hours ratio, and shops that assume 100 percent set rates that quietly fail to cover the business.

Effective labor rate is the number that matters

Your posted rate is what is on the wall. Your effective labor rate is total labor revenue divided by hours actually paid to technicians, and it is almost always lower, often by fifteen or twenty percent. The difference is discounts, warranty work, comebacks, and time that never made it onto a ticket.

This matters because raising the posted rate does not fix a leaking effective rate. If you are collecting $78 against a posted $95, the problem is not the number on the wall. Track the effective rate monthly, by technician and by job type, before deciding whether a rate increase is what you actually need.

Raising your rate without losing customers

The shops that get hurt by a rate increase are the ones that waited too long and then moved too far at once. Small annual adjustments barely register. A jump from $95 to $130 after four years of nothing is the one customers notice and talk about.

Two things make an increase land better. Give existing customers notice rather than surprising them at the counter. And time it alongside something visible: new equipment, a longer warranty, or photo inspections that show customers what they are paying for. A rate rise attached to a visible improvement reads as investment. On its own it reads as a price hike.

Labor rate FAQ

Auto repair labor rate questions

Q1What is the average auto repair labor rate?

The national average auto repair labor rate is about $81 per hour. That figure is derived from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics mean hourly wage for automotive service technicians and mechanics, which is $27.13 nationally, multiplied by 3. That multiplier is the long-standing industry rule of thumb for what a shop must post to cover the wage plus payroll taxes, benefits, the building, tooling, insurance, software, administrative time, and profit. Real posted rates range roughly from $53 in the lowest-cost states to well over $114 at dealers and specialists in expensive metros.

Q2Which state has the highest auto repair labor rates?

Among the states, District of Columbia has the highest derived labor rate at about $98 per hour, on a mean technician wage of $32.65. West Virginia is lowest at roughly $64 per hour, on a mean technician wage of $21.19. Bear in mind that variation within a state is often larger than variation between states: a shop in a major metro and one two hours away in the same state routinely post rates $30 apart.

Q3How do shops calculate their hourly labor rate?

Work backwards from what the shop has to cover, not forwards from what competitors charge. Add up your annual fixed costs, meaning rent, utilities, insurance, software, equipment and non-technician wages, then add technician wages including payroll taxes and benefits, then add the profit the business needs. Divide by the billable hours you can realistically sell, which is far fewer than the hours your technicians are present. Most shops land somewhere near three times the technician's wage, which is where the rule of thumb comes from, but the calculation is what tells you whether three is right for you.

Q4Why is my shop's labor rate lower than the state average?

Usually one of three reasons. Your effective labor rate is being eroded by discounting, comebacks and unbilled time, so what you post and what you collect are different numbers. Your overhead genuinely is lower than the state average, which is common outside metros. Or you have not raised the rate in several years while wages and costs kept moving. The third is the most common and the easiest to fix.

Q5How often should I raise my labor rate?

Review annually and adjust in small increments rather than waiting three years and making one large jump. Customers notice a rate that moves from $95 to $130 far more than one that moves five dollars a year. Tie the review to a date rather than to a moment of frustration, and check it against what you actually pay technicians now, not what you paid when you last set the rate.

Q6Where does this labor rate data come from?

The technician wages and employment counts are real figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, occupation code 49-3023 (Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics), May 2025 release. The door rates are derived from those wages using the multipliers stated on this page (2.5×, 3× and 3.5×), because no public survey of posted shop labor rates exists. We publish the multiplier so you can recompute it if you disagree with it.

Q7Should I charge different rates for different work?

Many shops do, and it usually makes sense. Diagnostic time, especially electrical and driveability work, requires equipment and skill that a brake job does not, and pricing both at the same rate means the brake job subsidizes the diagnosis. Tiered rates are common: a standard rate for maintenance and general repair, a higher one for diagnostics and specialty work. What matters is that the customer is told which rate applies before the work starts.