Elevator Mechanic Salary: National Median vs Union Scale
Elevator and escalator installers and repairers earn a median $109,910 a year — the highest of any construction trade. Union mechanic scale at IUEC locals runs $51.11 to $84.05 an hour before fringe. Here is both, with sources.
Why there are two different numbers
The $109,910 figure covers everyone the BLS counts in the occupation — union and non-union, installation and service, every state. It is the right answer to “what does this trade pay.”
The union figure answers something narrower: what a topped-out journeyman mechanic earns under a collective bargaining agreement in a specific local. Those rates are base pay only — 21 of the 21 locals we have data for also publish a fringe package on top, the largest reaching $122.59 an hour all-in.
Highest-paying IUEC locals
Journeyman mechanic base rate, 2026 union wage determinations.
| Local | Area | Base/hr | Package | ~Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | San Francisco, CA +1 | $84.05 | $122.49 | $174,800 |
| 138 | Poughkeepsie, NY | $76.12 | $115.10 | $158,300 |
| 1 | New York, NY | $75.14 | $122.59 | $156,300 |
| 5 | Philadelphia, PA | $71.85 | $110.29 | $149,400 |
| 2 | Chicago, IL | $70.68 | $109.12 | $147,000 |
| 18 | Los Angeles/San Diego, CA +1 | $69.43 | $107.87 | $144,400 |
| 132 | Madison, WI | $65.17 | $103.61 | $135,600 |
| 39 | Providence, RI | $64.52 | $102.96 | $134,200 |
| 3 | Evansville, IN +1 | $62.73 | $101.17 | $130,500 |
| 44 | Toledo, OH | $62.27 | $100.71 | $129,500 |
Annual figures are base rate at 2,080 hours, excluding overtime and fringe. Full table for all 21 locals, each expandable into its apprentice ladder, on the IUEC pay scales page.
What you earn getting there
Elevator apprenticeships pay from day one and take four years. The percentage ladder is set by national agreement rather than local by local, so it is the same everywhere: 50% of your local’s mechanic rate as a probationary apprentice, rising to 80% in year four, then 100% as a journeyman. Against the median mechanic rate that is about $30.71 an hour to start.
Sourcing, the full ladder and an independent verification against one local’s posted dollars are on the elevator apprentice pay page.
The hard part is getting in, not the pay
This is a small trade — roughly $24,700 jobs nationally, growing 6% over 2025–2035. Intake runs centrally through NEIEP’s 82 recruitment areas, and each opens roughly once every two years. Windows run from a few days to three weeks, and some cap out in under 36 hours.
- Check whether your area’s window is open — and get an email the moment it is.
- Learn what is actually on the EIAT, the entrance test you must pass.
- Take a practice test in the verified NEIEP format.
Related Resources
IUEC pay scales by local (2026)
Mechanic rate, fringe and package for 21 locals.
Elevator apprentice pay
The national 4-year ladder, 50% to 80% of mechanic scale.
How to become an elevator constructor
The whole path from recruitment window to indenture.
Recruitment windows
All 82 NEIEP areas and when each opens.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers (May 2025); 2026 federal wage determinations for union elevator classifications, linked per local on the pay scales page; and 2022-2027 NEBA Agreement (IUEC / National Elevator Bargaining Association).
Facts on this page trace to primary sources (NEIEP’s official study guide, BLS data) — see sources & methodology. Independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by the IUEC, NEIEP, or any union or testing organization.