Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $55K, rent takes 34.2% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,260/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,100/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers typically earn — is $38K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,287/month.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $55K locally vs. $61K nationally, a 10% difference.

West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area pays $55K median vs. the U.S. average of $61K — that’s -10%.

The median is $55,160 a year, that works out to about $27 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $38,120, and experienced heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers can clear $73,560. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,679/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,260/month, which eats 34.2% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers salary is worth about $55,160 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.