BLS May 2025
Collision Repair Technician Salary by State
Automotive Body and Related Repairers (SOC 49-3021) earned a median of $54,890 a year in the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 estimates, and the middle 80 percent earned between $36,910 and $87,940. 149,310 wage and salary jobs sit behind those figures, and the highest state median is $72,490 in Rhode Island.
By Trevor Rupe, Contributor at Savo Media Group
At a Glance
- $54,890 median annual wage for automotive body and related repairers (SOC 49-3021), BLS May 2025, or $26.39 an hour.
- $36,910 to $87,940 from the 10th to the 90th percentile.
- 149,310 jobs in the occupation, wage and salary workers only.
- Rhode Island has the highest state median at $72,490; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA leads the metropolitan areas at $76,800.
Collision Repair Technician Salary Percentiles
Annual wages for automotive body and related repairers (SOC 49-3021) across the United States, BLS OEWS May 2025. Percentiles are points in the wage distribution, not stages of a career, so the 10th percentile is not a starting salary.
| Measure | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $36,910 |
| 25th percentile | $45,750 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $54,890 |
| 75th percentile | $69,200 |
| 90th percentile | $87,940 |
| Mean | $59,690 |
| Median hourly wage | $26.39 |
| Wage and salary jobs | 149,310 |
Collision Repair Technician Salary by State
The ten highest state medians for automotive body and related repairers show where a collision repair technician salary runs highest, among states with at least 500 jobs in the occupation. The states with the most jobs are Texas (14,070), California (14,050), Florida (9,220) and New York (8,530).
| State | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $72,490 | 800 |
| California | $66,860 | 14,050 |
| New Jersey | $62,400 | 3,720 |
| Minnesota | $60,970 | 2,910 |
| Missouri | $60,540 | 4,350 |
| Nevada | $60,520 | 1,020 |
| Oregon | $60,000 | 1,660 |
| Colorado | $59,880 | 3,120 |
| Massachusetts | $59,300 | 3,060 |
| Washington | $58,340 | 2,330 |
State pages carry the percentiles, the metropolitan areas and the five trades side by side for each of the 50 states, starting from the salary hub.
Collision Repair Technician Salary by Metro Area
The ten highest medians among the metropolitan areas with at least 500 jobs in the occupation. A metropolitan area that crosses state lines has one figure for the whole area.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $76,800 | 610 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $76,740 | 2,680 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $67,090 | 4,270 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $64,590 | 1,340 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $63,920 | 1,950 |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $63,080 | 660 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $63,020 | 940 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $62,640 | 1,010 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $62,550 | 2,130 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $62,200 | 1,830 |
The largest metropolitan areas by jobs are New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (8,150 jobs, median $57,920), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (4,450 jobs, median $52,040), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (4,270 jobs, median $67,090) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (4,080 jobs, median $57,280).
Collision Repair Technician Salary Compared With Other Trades
The collision repair technician salary beside the other four mechanic trades, each its own BLS occupation, May 2025.
| Trade | Median | 10th to 90th percentile | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Mechanic SOC 49-3023 | $50,620 | $34,660 to $81,790 | 704,640 |
| Diesel Mechanic SOC 49-3031 | $61,770 | $44,530 to $88,740 | 289,960 |
| Aircraft Mechanic SOC 49-3011 | $79,870 | $48,780 to $128,890 | 138,090 |
| Collision Repair Technician SOC 49-3021 | $54,890 | $36,910 to $87,940 | 149,310 |
| Heavy Equipment Mechanic SOC 49-3042 | $65,510 | $46,820 to $94,460 | 176,600 |
What Shapes a Collision Repair Technician Salary
BLS says the majority of repair shops and auto dealers pay automotive body and glass repairers on an incentive basis, so a repairer paid by the job can earn well above or below the straight-time median that OEWS reports.
BLS says certification is not required but is recommended because it shows competence and usually brings higher pay, and that in some instances it is required for advancement beyond entry-level work. It also says repairers generally need 2 or 3 years of hands-on training to become fully independent.
Training and Career Guide for Collision Repair Technician
The collision repair technician career guide covers what the job is, the training routes and the credentials that apply. The accredited programs that train for it are ranked on this site.
Questions About Collision Repair Technician Salary
How much does a collision repair technician make?
BLS reports a May 2025 median of $54,890 a year for automotive body and related repairers (SOC 49-3021), or $26.39 an hour. The mean is $59,690. That is $4,270 above the median for automotive service technicians.
What is the lowest and highest pay for collision repair technicians?
BLS reports pay by percentile rather than by years of experience. In May 2025, the lowest-paid tenth of automotive body and related repairers earned under $36,910 and the highest-paid tenth earned over $87,940. The 10th percentile is the occupation's low end, not a starting salary.
What is the average collision repair technician salary?
The median collision repair technician salary in the BLS May 2025 estimates is $54,890 a year, the middle of the distribution, and the mean is $59,690.
Which state pays collision repair technicians the most?
Among states with at least 500 jobs in the occupation, Rhode Island has the highest May 2025 median for automotive body and related repairers, $72,490, followed by California ($66,860) and New Jersey ($62,400).
Do the figures include self-employed collision repair technicians?
No. OEWS counts wage and salary jobs only, and BLS says its survey does not include the self-employed.
Sources for Collision Repair Technician Salary Data
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Automotive Body and Related Repairers May 2025 national, state and metropolitan estimates, read October 23, 2026.
- BLS OEWS technical notes The survey covers wage and salary workers and not the self-employed.
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