How Much Do HVAC Technicians Make in Texas?

Texas has 34,730 HVAC mechanics and installers, which makes sense in a state where air conditioning is not optional for half the year. The pay picture is steady rather than flashy: a solid middle, a wide range between new techs and veterans, and real differences between the big metros and smaller cities.

All figures here come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025, for the occupation “heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers.”

The Texas Pay Range, From New Tech to Veteran

The median tells you what the typical worker earns. The percentiles tell you what the climb looks like.

The median hourly wage is $27.77, and the mean annual wage is $59,130. BLS counted 34,730 people working in the occupation statewide.

The 10th percentile is a reasonable stand-in for what many new techs and helpers earn. The 90th percentile reflects experienced service techs, commercial and refrigeration specialists, and people who have moved into lead roles. The spread between them reflects everything from years on the job to the kind of systems a tech services.

Pay by Texas Metro Area

Here is every Texas metro in the BLS data, ranked by median pay.

The pattern is clear. The four big metros sit at the top, all near or above the statewide median. Odessa and Midland keep pace with them despite their small size. The Rio Grande Valley, El Paso and Laredo sit at the bottom.

Where the Jobs Are

Pay is only half the question. You also need openings. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is the largest HVAC job market in Texas by far, with 10,910 jobs, and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is second with 7,680. Austin and San Antonio each have a little over 3,000.

If you live in one of those four metros, you have the most employers to choose from and the most training options nearby:

• Dallas-Fort Worth: Dallas College offers an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology AAS with embedded certificates, and Tarrant County College lets you choose a commercial or residential AAS track. See all programs near Dallas.
• Houston: Houston Community College offers a 21-credit basic certificate that takes two full-time semesters, and San Jacinto College in Pasadena has a three-month occupational certificate. See programs near Houston.
• San Antonio: St. Philip’s College offers eight stackable HVAC awards, and faculty proctor the EPA certification exam.
• Austin: Austin Community College stacks a 12-credit skills award, a 27-credit certificate and a 60-credit AAS on the same opening courses. See programs near Austin.

The Top of the Range: What Separates $38,100 From $81,860

Nothing in the BLS data says why one tech earns more than another, but the job itself gives some clues. Commercial systems, refrigeration and controls are harder to learn and fewer people can service them. Several Texas programs lean into exactly that work:

• Tyler Junior College runs an ammonia refrigeration track with its own AAS and certificates, alongside its general HVAC track.
• Texas State Technical College trains on commercial refrigeration, direct digital and pneumatic controls, and a 200-ton chilled water system.
• Lincoln College of Technology in Grand Prairie hosts Hussmann’s TechX advanced commercial refrigeration facility on campus.
• Paris Junior College offers a Distributed Digital Control in Air Conditioning certificate focused on digital HVAC controls.

Licensing matters too. Texas registers HVAC workers through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and several schools prepare you for the Registered ACR Technician license, including Austin Career Institute and Western Technical College in El Paso.

Smaller Texas Cities That Pay Close to the Big Metros

You don’t have to live in Dallas or Houston to earn near the state median. A handful of smaller metros hold their own, and each has a training option close by.

Odessa and Midland. The Permian Basin metros post medians of $58,580 and $57,800, right alongside San Antonio. The job pools are small (160 and 260 workers), so openings come up less often, but the pay is there. Midland College offers an Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology AAS and hosts a free five-week Skillpoint Alliance HVAC course where students can take the EPA 608 Universal exam, earn OSHA-10 and apply for the TDLR Registered ACR Technician license.

Beaumont-Port Arthur. The median here is $56,720 across 390 workers. Two public schools serve the area: Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont, where the certificate starts in August and finishes the following May, and Lamar State College-Port Arthur, which lists the lowest tuition in Texas.

Sherman-Denison. The median is $56,330, but the 90th percentile reaches $83,260, higher than San Antonio’s. Grayson College in Denison stacks a 28-hour apprentice certificate, a 36-hour technician certificate and a 60-hour AAS, with EPA 608 testing available on site.

Tyler. The median is $49,300, near the bottom of the list, yet the 90th percentile is $82,570. That wide spread suggests room to grow for techs who stick with it, and Tyler Junior College’s ammonia refrigeration track is one route into specialized work.

At the other end, El Paso has the lowest 10th percentile in Texas at $28,130, with a median of $47,270. If you plan to work there, count on a lean first year or two. El Paso Community College trains on commercial ice machines, walk-in freezers and rooftop units, the kind of equipment that leads to commercial service work.

How Texas Compares Nationally

Nationally, HVAC mechanics and installers earned a median $61,010 a year, or $29.33 an hour, in May 2025. The Texas median of $57,760 sits a bit below that, and only Austin’s $60,820 comes close to the national figure.

That gap is worth keeping in context. Texas has 34,730 of the 409,670 HVAC mechanics and installers employed nationwide, and it has a large supply of low-cost training. In-district tuition and fees for a full-time year (2024-25) start at $1,863 at Tarrant County College and $2,040 at Houston Community College, so the cost of getting into the trade is low. The Texas HVAC school cost guide has the tuition figures for each school.

Getting to the Middle of the Range Faster

A few things you can do while you’re still in school:

Get EPA 608 certified early. You need it to handle refrigerant, and many Texas programs build the test in. Del Mar College in Corpus Christi starts every pathway with an EPA recovery certification prep course. The EPA 608 certification guide explains the exam types.

Pick a program with field experience. Laredo College ends each certificate with a co-op placement at an HVAC company, and Interactive College of Technology in Pasadena includes a 135-hour externship.

Keep working while you train. Evening and weekend sections let you hold a job, even a helper job, while you finish. The Texas night HVAC classes guide lists the schools that run them.

For how HVAC pay compares across states, see the national HVAC technician salary guide. For the full list of Texas programs, start at the Texas HVAC school guide.

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