How Much Do HVAC Technicians Make in Georgia?

Before you spend a year in HVAC school, you want to know what the work pays. Here’s the answer for Georgia, taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for May 2025. BLS groups service techs, installers and refrigeration mechanics under one title: heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers.

Georgia HVAC Pay at Every Level

The median is the middle of the pack. Half of Georgia’s HVAC workers earned more, half earned less. The percentiles show the spread around it.

Georgia pays a bit below the national median at every level shown. The gap is widest at the top. A Georgia tech at the 90th percentile earns $79,130, while nationally that level reaches $95,210.

BLS doesn’t tie percentiles to years on the job, but you can read them as a rough ladder. Someone fresh out of school usually starts toward the lower rungs, and techs who run their own service calls work their way toward the median and beyond. The 25th percentile of $46,250 is a realistic early target, and the 75th percentile of $66,180 is where a solid, experienced tech can aim.

Pay by Metro Area

Where you work in Georgia moves your pay more than almost anything else. BLS publishes medians for 15 metros that include Georgia:

Why Atlanta Matters Most

Dalton tops the median list, but it’s a small market with 150 HVAC jobs, and its 90th percentile ($65,850) sits barely above its median. That means pay there is bunched together, with little room at the top.

Metro Atlanta tells a different story. It employs 7,060 HVAC workers, more than half the state’s total, and its 90th percentile of $82,740 is the highest of any Georgia metro. If you want the most job openings and the highest ceiling, Atlanta is where both are.

Smaller Metros With Wide Ranges

Several smaller metros have modest medians but a big spread. Albany’s median is $48,320, yet its 90th percentile reaches $76,320. Savannah and Rome look similar. In these markets, the gap between a new tech and a seasoned one is wide, so experience pays off.

Where to Train Near the Better-Paying Metros

If you plan to work in a particular metro, training close by makes sense. You’ll build contacts with local contractors while you’re in school.

Metro Atlanta. Atlanta Technical College conferred 295 HVAC awards in 2024-25, the most in Georgia, and runs its program on the college’s evening and weekend schedule. Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville sets its schedules so students can work in HVAC while taking classes. Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta offers a diploma and seven certificates. Browse all 12 programs within 60 miles on the Atlanta HVAC schools page.

Hinesville and Savannah. Savannah Technical College teaches HVAC at its Savannah and Liberty campuses, in person, hybrid or at night. It conferred 99 HVAC awards in 2024-25.

Gainesville and northeast Georgia. Lanier Technical College runs its program at the Hall Campus and is nationally accredited by HVAC Excellence. North Georgia Technical College in Clarkesville offers an associate degree plus an Advanced Commercial Refrigeration certificate. See the Gainesville HVAC schools page.

Northwest Georgia and Chattanooga. Georgia Northwestern Technical College in Rome offers its diploma at the Floyd County and Walker County campuses.

Pay and Training in Middle and South Georgia

Outside Atlanta, the remaining Georgia metros have medians between Columbus at $46,780 and Gainesville at $53,310. These markets are smaller, but training is close by and the top earners still do well.

Macon and Warner Robins. The two metros have nearly identical medians: $48,980 in Macon-Bibb County and $48,670 in Warner Robins. Central Georgia Technical College serves both, with its diploma and certificates at the Macon, Milledgeville and Warner Robins locations. It conferred 194 HVAC awards in 2024-25, second only to Atlanta Technical College among the state’s public colleges.

Augusta. The Augusta-Richmond County metro, which crosses into South Carolina, employs 620 HVAC workers at a median of $48,900. Augusta Technical College runs its diploma in morning, midday and evening versions. Helms College, a private nonprofit in Augusta, offers evening classes too.

Brunswick and the coast. The Brunswick-St. Simons median is $49,920. Coastal Pines Technical College offers every one of its HVAC awards at its Golden Isles campus, as well as in Jesup and Waycross.

Columbus, Albany and Valdosta. These three have the lowest medians in the state, but each has a local technical college: Columbus Technical College, Albany Technical College and Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, which lists its diploma among its evening programs. Albany’s 90th percentile of $76,320 shows there’s still room to grow. See the Albany HVAC schools page for nearby options.

How Georgia Compares With the Nation

Georgia’s median of $56,390 trails the national figure of $61,010. The hourly gap is $27.11 against $29.33. That doesn’t mean HVAC is a poor choice in Georgia. Training here costs little: in-state tuition and fees at Georgia’s technical colleges run from $3,007 to $4,282 for a full-time year (2024-25). Set a training bill that small against a median of $56,390, and the trade makes sense for most career changers.

There’s also plenty of work. BLS counted 12,290 HVAC mechanics and installers in Georgia, and the state’s schools keep adding to that number: NCES counted 3,042 HVAC awards conferred at Georgia institutions in 2022-23. That’s a lot of new techs each year, so it pays to stand out: finish the full diploma rather than a single certificate if you can, and get your EPA 608 card before you apply for jobs. If you’re weighing a paid apprenticeship instead of school, the HVAC apprenticeship guide covers how that route works.

For the full breakdown of what school costs, see how much HVAC school costs in Georgia.

Getting From Entry Pay to the Median

The percentiles above don’t say why one tech earns more than another, but a few steps are standard in the trade:

• Get EPA 608 certified. You need it to handle refrigerant. Several Georgia programs build it in: United Education Institute makes it a graduation requirement, and Fortis College in Smyrna ends with an EPA certification preparation course. The EPA 608 certification guide explains the exam types.
• Pick up NATE preparation. Interactive College of Technology in Chamblee builds its courses around NATE exams, including light commercial and commercial refrigeration in its degree.
• Move toward commercial work. Albany Technical College offers a 29-credit Industrial/Commercial Air certificate, and South Georgia Technical College and Southern Crescent Technical College offer Light Commercial Air Conditioning Specialization certificates.

For how pay and roles change over a career, see the HVAC careers guide and the national HVAC technician salary guide.

Working Around Your Current Job

Many people who switch into HVAC can’t quit their job to train. Georgia has several programs with evening sections, including Atlanta Technical College, Augusta Technical College, Savannah Technical College and Wiregrass Georgia Technical College in Valdosta. The post on evening HVAC classes in Georgia lists schedules school by school.

NCES counted 27 Georgia institutions that conferred HVAC awards in 2022-23. To compare the programs, start at the Georgia HVAC schools page.

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