How Much Do HVAC Technicians Make in New York?

If you are thinking about HVAC work in New York, the headline number is good: the middle earner made $74,430 in May 2025, well above the national median. The catch is that most of that strength comes from the New York City area. Upstate, pay looks a lot more like the rest of the country, though training there also tends to cost less.

Every figure here is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers.

New York Pays Above the National Median

Here is New York’s full pay range next to the national figures:

Two more data points round out the picture. The 25th percentile in New York was $59,720 and the 75th percentile was $88,130. The mean was $74,760, almost the same as the median, which tells you pay in New York isn’t lopsided toward a few very high earners.

New York’s 10th percentile is well above the national one, so even early-career technicians here tend to start from a higher floor.

Reading the Middle of the Range

If you are switching careers, the median is only part of the story. The 25th and 75th percentiles show where most working technicians actually land. In New York, half of all HVAC mechanics earned between $59,720 and $88,130 in May 2025.

Where you fall in that band depends on the kind of work you do and how long you have done it. A new installer on residential jobs is likely nearer the bottom of that band. A service tech who troubleshoots commercial equipment and holds EPA 608 certification is more likely to be near the top.

The hourly median of $35.78 is also useful when you compare job postings, since many HVAC jobs are advertised by the hour rather than by the year. Nationally, the hourly median was $29.33, so a New York posting near $35.78 is right in the middle of the local market.

The New York City Area Leads on Pay and Jobs

The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area had a median of $77,990 in May 2025, the highest of any metro in the state. Its 10th percentile was $50,690 and its 90th percentile $108,780. It also employed 21,820 HVAC mechanics. The metro area crosses into New Jersey, so that count includes some New Jersey jobs.

If you live in the city, you have several training options:

• Apex Technical School in Queens conferred 200 HVAC awards in 2024-25, the most in New York. Its 900-hour program covers commercial refrigeration and cooling towers and prepares you for EPA Section 608.
• CUNY New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn offers an Environmental Control Technology AAS focused on theory, design and lab work for large-building HVAC&R systems.
• Career School of NY on Staten Island combines electrical assistant training with HVAC and offers an evening schedule from 3 to 10 p.m.

On Long Island, Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood and the Electrical and HVAC/R Training Center in Copiague both offer evening classes. Browse the Brooklyn and Brentwood pages for everything nearby.

Upstate Pay by Metro Area

Outside the city, every New York metro had a median between $60,780 and $66,600:

The upstate medians are close together, so a move from Utica to Syracuse doesn’t change much. Syracuse and Albany sit at the top of the upstate list, and both also have 90th percentiles near the state figure. What differs more is the size of each market. Rochester, Albany and Buffalo each employ well over a thousand HVAC mechanics, while Elmira and Ithaca each employ fewer than 150.

Buffalo and Kingston have the lowest starting points, with 10th percentiles of $39,240 and $36,900. Their 90th percentiles are close to Rochester’s, though, so the ceiling is similar even when the floor is lower.

The Hudson Valley, Southern Tier and North Country

Several smaller metros sit between the big upstate markets. Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, in the Hudson Valley, had a median of $65,530 and 1,150 HVAC mechanics, a mid-sized market by upstate standards. Kingston, just north, had a median of $61,470.

In the Southern Tier, Binghamton ($62,020), Elmira ($62,400) and Ithaca ($64,690) are close together. Two SUNY colleges of technology serve this part of the state. SUNY Delhi offers a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning AAS that also covers plumbing and blueprint reading. SUNY Alfred pairs HVAC with plumbing and hydronic boiler controls, and its 55% graduation rate (Fall 2018 cohort) is the highest among the New York schools in this data.

Farther north, Watertown-Fort Drum had a median of $62,850 and Glens Falls $60,780. SUNY Canton offers an HVAC Engineering Technology AAS for students in the North Country, and Fulton-Montgomery Community College in Johnstown runs a one-year certificate. See the Johnstown page for programs nearby.

Where to Train Near Upstate Jobs

Each of the larger upstate markets has a public college with HVAC training close by:

• Rochester: Monroe Community College has the lowest in-state tuition in New York at $6,006 a year (2024-25), and its AAS covers heat pumps, controls and Manual J sizing.
• Albany area: Hudson Valley Community College in Troy offers an AOS in heating, air conditioning and refrigeration technical services covering both residential and commercial systems.
• Syracuse: Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCES in Liverpool runs a 715-hour certificate and gives each student a tool kit with an electrical meter and a refrigerant gauge manifold.
• Buffalo: SUNY Erie Community College in Williamsville and Erie 1 BOCES both train HVAC technicians; see the Williamsville page.
• Utica-Rome: Mohawk Valley Community College offers a one-year certificate whose courses all count toward its two-year AOS.

How to Move Toward the Top of the Range

Across New York, the 90th percentile was $100,680. Getting there usually takes years on the job, but your training choices help too:

1. Get EPA 608 certified early. You need it to work with refrigerants. Mohawk Valley, OCM BOCES, Erie 1 BOCES and Apex Technical School all build it into their programs. The EPA 608 certification guide explains the exam.
2. Learn commercial systems. Large buildings run on chillers, cooling towers and boilers. City Tech, Apex and Hudson Valley all cover commercial equipment.
3. Add heat pump skills. Suffolk County Community College runs a free non-credit Heat Pump Inverter Technology course that prepares students for ESCO Institute certification exams.
4. Consider a union path. SUNY Delhi notes that some plumbers’ unions accept the plumbing portion of its degree as the first year of a five-year apprenticeship. Read more about HVAC apprenticeship paths in New York.

For what each of these programs costs, see how much HVAC school costs in New York. The national HVAC technician salary guide compares New York with other states, and the New York HVAC schools page lists every program.

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