These Are The 10 States With The Highest Diesel Mechanic Salaries For 2017

Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do diesel mechanics get paid where I live?

And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for diesel mechanics by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.

To better understand how salaries change across America, we decided to take a look the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on average pay for diesel mechanics by state.

Additionally, we wanted to adjust the salary based on the cost of living in a state — because your salary goes further in North Carolina than it does in California.

The state with the best salary for diesel mechanics after this adjustment? That would be Bus And Truck Mechanics And Diesel Engine Specialists.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for salaries:

Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.

If youâre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:

How we determined pay by state

As we mentioned earlier, we took the average annual salary data for diesel mechanics from the 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics — specifically their ‘Occupational Employment Statistics.’

To make the comparison of salaries apples to apples across states, we also took into account the cost of living in each state.

We then created an index by dividing the average wage for a state by the cost of living relative to average. As an example, the cost of living index in California is 135.9 and the average pay is $52780, so our index value would be:

$52,780 * (100 / 135.9) = $38,837

We then ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary index ranking as highest average salary for diesel mechanics.

Here’s a look at the full ranking for all states.

Detailed List Of Diesel Mechanic Salaries By State

Rank	State	Adjusted Salary	Average Wage	Cost Of Living
1	Wyoming	$60,076	$55,150	91.8
2	Nevada	$53,533	$55,300	103.3
3	North Dakota	$52,012	$51,700	99.4
4	Illinois	$51,849	$49,050	94.6
5	Utah	$51,139	$47,560	93.0
6	Washington	$50,570	$53,200	105.2
7	Texas	$50,429	$45,740	90.7
8	Georgia	$49,059	$44,840	91.4
9	Tennessee	$48,870	$43,690	89.4
10	Kansas	$48,820	$43,890	89.9
11	Missouri	$48,351	$43,710	90.4
12	Minnesota	$48,253	$48,640	100.8
13	Delaware	$48,205	$48,880	101.4
14	Michigan	$48,134	$42,840	89.0
15	Alaska	$47,833	$62,710	131.1
16	Colorado	$47,745	$49,560	103.8
17	Oklahoma	$47,645	$42,500	89.2
18	Indiana	$47,486	$42,500	89.5
19	Ohio	$47,398	$44,460	93.8
20	Nebraska	$47,325	$43,350	91.6
21	Louisiana	$46,983	$44,540	94.8
22	Wisconsin	$46,859	$45,360	96.8
23	Florida	$46,541	$45,750	98.3
24	North Carolina	$46,144	$43,330	93.9
25	Virginia	$45,664	$46,030	100.8
26	Iowa	$45,505	$41,410	91.0
27	Kentucky	$45,425	$41,110	90.5
28	Alabama	$45,076	$41,110	91.2
29	New Jersey	$44,708	$54,500	121.9
30	Arizona	$44,469	$43,580	98.0
31	Arkansas	$44,454	$38,720	87.1
32	New Mexico	$44,414	$42,860	96.5
33	Idaho	$44,071	$40,590	92.1
34	Pennsylvania	$43,727	$44,340	101.4
35	Mississippi	$43,399	$37,280	85.9
36	Montana	$43,253	$43,600	100.8
37	Connecticut	$42,607	$54,410	127.7
38	West Virginia	$41,370	$38,640	93.4
39	Massachusetts	$41,139	$54,880	133.4
40	Oregon	$40,769	$47,130	115.6
41	South Carolina	$40,756	$40,430	99.2
42	New York	$40,603	$53,190	131.0
43	South Dakota	$40,511	$42,010	103.7
44	New Hampshire	$39,991	$46,790	117.0
45	Maine	$38,971	$43,180	110.8
46	Maryland	$38,932	$48,860	125.5
47	California	$38,837	$52,780	135.9
48	Rhode Island	$38,003	$45,870	120.7
49	Vermont	$37,060	$44,880	121.1
50	Hawaii	$33,061	$55,510	167.9

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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