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Test engine mechanic salary
Average test engine mechanic salary
$78,505
Understanding Test Engine Mechanic Salaries
A Test Engine Mechanic plays a vital role in maintaining and optimizing engine performance. The average salary for this position is approximately $78,505 per year, equating to about $38 per hour. Factors influencing salary include geographical location, years of experience, and the employer's industry. For example, mechanics in metropolitan areas often earn more than their counterparts in rural locations.
Salary Breakdown by State
In states like California and Texas, the demand for skilled mechanics drives salaries higher. Cities such as Los Angeles and Houston offer some of the best compensation packages. The salary range can be significantly broader depending on local industry conditions and cost of living.
Experience Level Matters
Entry-level Test Engine Mechanics might start at lower salaries, while those with extensive experience can command higher wages. Companies are often willing to pay a premium for those with specialized skills, making continuous education and certification valuable investments in your career.
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Where can a Test Engine Mechanic earn more?
Test engine mechanic salaries by experience level
Average test engine mechanic salary by state
The average test engine mechanic salary in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Mexico are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average test engine mechanic salary states are Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Florida.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for test engine mechanics
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $100,044 | $48.10 |
| 2 | Washington | $99,856 | $48.01 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $103,078 | $49.56 |
| 4 | California | $98,853 | $47.53 |
| 5 | Alabama | $89,782 | $43.16 |
| 6 | Michigan | $90,609 | $43.56 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $96,159 | $46.23 |
| 8 | Texas | $89,463 | $43.01 |
| 9 | Idaho | $88,233 | $42.42 |
| 10 | Delaware | $92,443 | $44.44 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $101,670 | $48.88 |
| 12 | Oregon | $88,790 | $42.69 |
| 13 | Arizona | $87,171 | $41.91 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $90,664 | $43.59 |
| 15 | Louisiana | $88,333 | $42.47 |
| 16 | Maryland | $90,887 | $43.70 |
| 17 | Virginia | $88,999 | $42.79 |
| 18 | Alaska | $85,000 | $40.87 |
| 19 | New York | $93,199 | $44.81 |
| 20 | Colorado | $85,315 | $41.02 |
| 21 | District of Columbia | $94,682 | $45.52 |
| 22 | Connecticut | $86,212 | $41.45 |
| 23 | Iowa | $76,101 | $36.59 |
| 24 | West Virginia | $85,243 | $40.98 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | $81,632 | $39.25 |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | $77,246 | $37.14 |
| 27 | Nevada | $77,275 | $37.15 |
| 28 | New Hampshire | $81,559 | $39.21 |
| 29 | Missouri | $81,339 | $39.11 |
| 30 | Ohio | $77,330 | $37.18 |
| 31 | Utah | $73,271 | $35.23 |
| 32 | Illinois | $83,597 | $40.19 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $77,200 | $37.12 |
| 34 | Wyoming | $73,372 | $35.27 |
| 35 | Maine | $78,486 | $37.73 |
| 36 | Vermont | $73,494 | $35.33 |
| 37 | Tennessee | $74,542 | $35.84 |
| 38 | Montana | $70,936 | $34.10 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $70,033 | $33.67 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $73,442 | $35.31 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $73,793 | $35.48 |
| 42 | Mississippi | $69,875 | $33.59 |
| 43 | Georgia | $73,779 | $35.47 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $71,673 | $34.46 |
| 45 | Indiana | $70,602 | $33.94 |
| 46 | Wisconsin | $69,617 | $33.47 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $68,909 | $33.13 |
| 48 | Florida | $69,246 | $33.29 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $70,910 | $34.09 |
| 50 | Kansas | $66,049 | $31.75 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $66,936 | $32.18 |
Highest paying cities for test engine mechanics
The highest-paying cities for test engine mechanics are Foster City, CA, Bridgewater, NJ, and Seattle, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foster City, CA | $104,137 | $50.07 |
| 2 | Bridgewater, NJ | $101,577 | $48.84 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | $100,576 | $48.35 |
| 4 | Rochester, NY | $91,313 | $43.90 |
| 5 | Farmington Hills, MI | $90,661 | $43.59 |
| 6 | Chaska, MN | $90,581 | $43.55 |
| 7 | Fort Worth, TX | $89,242 | $42.90 |
| 8 | Huntsville, AL | $89,231 | $42.90 |
| 9 | Phoenix, AZ | $87,278 | $41.96 |
| 10 | East Hartford, CT | $86,247 | $41.46 |
| 11 | Littleton, CO | $85,349 | $41.03 |
| 12 | Wilmington, NC | $77,128 | $37.08 |
| 13 | Dubuque, IA | $76,600 | $36.83 |
| 14 | Erie, PA | $75,646 | $36.37 |
| 15 | Oak Ridge, TN | $74,830 | $35.98 |
| 16 | Savannah, GA | $73,550 | $35.36 |
| 17 | Ogden, UT | $73,006 | $35.10 |
| 18 | Tallahassee, FL | $70,683 | $33.98 |
| 19 | Stevens Point, WI | $69,967 | $33.64 |
| 20 | Wichita, KS | $66,138 | $31.80 |
Test engine mechanic salary details
A test engine mechanic's salary ranges from $58,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $105,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a test engine mechanic's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $105,000 | $8,750 | $50 |
| 75th Percentile | $91,000 | $7,583 | $44 |
| Average | $78,505 | $6,542 | $38 |
| 25th Percentile | $67,000 | $5,583 | $32 |
| 10th Percentile | $58,000 | $4,833 | $28 |
Highest paying test engine mechanic jobs
The highest paying types of test engine mechanics are team lead engineer, senior engineer, and chief engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering Internship | $42,749 | $3,562 | $20.55 | 115,512 |
| Mechanical Design Engineer | $75,821 | $6,318 | $36.45 | 120,258 |
| Mechanical Engineer | $75,352 | $6,279 | $36.23 | 105,618 |
| Mechanical Designer | $62,541 | $5,212 | $30.07 | 65,748 |
| Service Engineer | $87,151 | $7,263 | $41.90 | 143,806 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for test engine mechanics, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Daisy Huang
Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Top companies hiring test engine mechanics now:
Which companies pay test engine mechanics the most?
Test engine mechanic salaries at Apple and Zoox are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average test engine mechanic salary at companies like Entegris and General Electric are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $126,385 | $60.76 |
| 2 | Zoox | $124,122 | $59.67 |
| 3 | Entegris | $97,823 | $47.03 |
| 4 | General Electric | $94,316 | $45.34 |
| 5 | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | $91,063 | $43.78 |
| 6 | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | $90,602 | $43.56 |
| 7 | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | $89,525 | $43.04 |
| 8 | Tesla | $89,270 | $42.92 |
| 9 | Arista Networks | $89,184 | $42.88 |
| 10 | Array Networks | $87,612 | $42.12 |
| 11 | Alcon | $87,293 | $41.97 |
| 12 | Spirit AeroSystems | $86,974 | $41.81 |
| 13 | Northrop Grumman | $85,553 | $41.13 |
| 14 | Elbit Systems of America | $84,324 | $40.54 |
| 15 | SpaceX | $84,146 | $40.45 |
| 16 | CyberCoders | $83,747 | $40.26 |
| 17 | Laserfiche | $83,729 | $40.25 |
| 18 | Valley Transportation | $82,520 | $39.67 |
| 19 | Lockheed Martin | $82,238 | $39.54 |
| 20 | Blue Origin | $82,021 | $39.43 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Test Engine Mechanic salary by industry
The average test engine mechanic salary varies across industries:
- The average test engine mechanic salary in the retail industry is $90,237, the highest of any industry.
- The average test engine mechanic salary in the finance industry is $87,848.
- Test engine mechanics in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $76,802, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for test engine mechanics
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail | $90,237 | $43.38 |
| 2 | Technology | $87,848 | $42.23 |
| 3 | Transportation | $84,929 | $40.83 |
| 4 | Energy | $80,997 | $38.94 |
| 5 | Start-up | $80,981 | $38.93 |
| 6 | Automotive | $79,861 | $38.39 |
| 7 | Manufacturing | $76,802 | $36.92 |
High paying test engine mechanic jobs
Test engine mechanic salary trends
The average test engine mechanic salary has risen by $9,517 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average test engine mechanic earned $68,988 annually, but today, they earn $78,505 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for test engine mechanics over the last decade.
Compare test engine mechanic salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average test engine mechanic salary over time
Compare test engine mechanic salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Test engine mechanic salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $78,500 | $37.74 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $77,000 | $37.02 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $76,100 | $36.58 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $74,800 | $35.95 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $73,300 | $35.24 | +0.7% |
Recently added test engine mechanic salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Origin | Mechanical Test Engineer III-New Glenn | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $117,498 |
| ZP Group | Mechanism Engineer-Assembly, Integration & Test | Midland, TX | 06/29/2025 | $85,000 |
| Lockheed Martin | Mechanical Test Engineer | Englewood, CO | 06/26/2025 | $85,500 |
| Smiths Interconnect | Mechanical Engineer-Product Testing | Dix, IL | 06/26/2025 | $84,000 |
| System One | Nuclear Irradiation and Mechanical Testing Engineer | Bellevue, WA | 06/24/2025 | $150,264 |
| Rolls Royce | Mechanical Test Engineer | Indianapolis, IN | 06/23/2025 | $70,629 |
| Actalent | Mechanical Test Engineer | Oregon City, OR | 06/18/2025 | $100,000 |
| Framatome | Mechanical Engineer-Test Engineer | Richland, WA | 06/13/2025 | $92,000 |
| Hermeus | Mechanisms Test Engineer | Los Angeles, CA | 06/12/2025 | $91,800 |
| Site Staffing Inc. | Mechanical Testing Engineer | Greendale, WI | 06/10/2025 | $90,000 |
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