Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $59K, rent takes 28.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,129/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new automotive service technicians and mechanics typically earn — is $38K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,290/month. At HUD’s $1,129/month FMR, rent would take 49% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 16% above the national median — $59K here vs. $51K nationally.

Montana pays $59K median vs. the U.S. average of $51K — that’s +16%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $61K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $58,740 a year, that works out to about $28 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $38,170, and experienced automotive service technicians and mechanics can clear $78,460. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,907/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,129/month, which eats 28.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Montana has a Regional Price Parity of 97 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median automotive service technicians and mechanics salary is worth about $60,557 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.