How much does an elevator mechanic make?

The BLS median for elevator and escalator installers and repairers is $109,910 a year, or $52.84 an hour, as of May 2025. That is the highest median of any construction trade. Union journeyman mechanic scale at IUEC locals runs from $51.11 to $84.05 an hour, median $61.41, before the fringe package.

Is elevator mechanic the highest-paid construction trade?

By BLS median pay, yes — $109,910 a year leads all construction trades. It is also one of the smallest, at roughly $24,700 jobs nationally, which is why access is the hard part rather than pay.

How long does it take to earn the full rate?

Four years. Elevator apprentices start at 50% of their local's mechanic rate and reach 80% in the fourth year, topping out at 100% as a journeyman mechanic. The percentage ladder is set nationally, so it is the same at every local.

What is the job outlook for elevator mechanics?

BLS projects 6% growth over 2025–2035, faster than the average for all occupations, across roughly $24,700 existing jobs.

BLS May 2025 + 2026 union rates

Elevator Mechanic Salary: National Median vs Union Scale

✓ Written by a federally recognized pre-apprenticeship instructor✓ Updated October 2026✓ Verified against NEIEP’s official study guide

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.

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Whole occupation (BLS)

$109,910

median · $52.84/hr · May 2025

Highest-paid construction trade · $24,700 jobs

IUEC mechanic scale

$61.41/hr

median base · ~$127,700/yr at full time

21 locals · 2026 determinations · before fringe

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.

Worth being precise about the comparison: union mechanics are by definition fully-trained workers in organised markets, so the gap between these two numbers is partly a union premium and partly a seniority-and-market gap. Both figures are accurate; they measure different populations.

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.

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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.

Keep going

Union pay in other trades

IBEW pay scales — electricians by local

Journeyman wages for the electrical trade.

UA pay scales — plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters by local

Journeyman rates and apprentice ladders for the pipe trades.

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).

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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.