How much do hazmat technicians make in 2026?
Hazmat technicians are counted in the BLS hazardous materials removal workers series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 47-4041 national median at $49,450 a year ($23.78 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $38,460 and the top 10% at $82,410. The occupation spans two distinct kinds of work. Scheduled remediation — soil and groundwater cleanup, tank removal, contaminated site excavation, industrial decontamination and waste packaging — is project work performed under HAZWOPER training with defined levels of protection, and it sits around the middle of the band. Emergency response is different: spill and release response, transportation incidents, chemical identification and containment, often on call around the clock, with technician and specialist competency levels defined by the hazardous waste operations and emergency response standard. Response technicians earn more, partly for the competency and partly for the call-out structure. Above both sit site supervisors, and technicians who add radiological, industrial hygiene sampling or confined space rescue capability. Note the same BLS series also covers asbestos and lead abatement, so the median blends several remediation trades. Employment is projected to grow 1% through 2034 with roughly 5,000 openings a year. → Full hazmat technician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $49,450 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Hazmat Technicians earn a national median $49,450/yr ($23.78/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-4041); the P10 to P90 range is $38,460 to $82,410.
- The BLS hazardous materials removal series gives a $49,450 median inside a $38,460 to $82,410 band, and it pools hazmat response with asbestos and lead abatement work.
- Scheduled remediation sits around the middle of the band; emergency spill and release response pays more for the competency level and the on-call structure.
- Adding radiological, industrial hygiene sampling or confined space rescue capability, or moving into site supervision, is what reaches the upper part of the band.
US Hazmat Technician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do hazmat technicians earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 47-4041; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-4041, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a hazmat technician earn at each career stage?
Hazmat pay follows competency level and whether you respond as well as remediate. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 47-4041.
By State
Which states pay hazmat technicians the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Hazmat work concentrates where industry and transport corridors are: states with refining, chemical manufacturing, ports, rail hubs and legacy contaminated sites support both remediation contractors and emergency response providers at rates above the modeled figure.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($56,870), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay hazmat technicians the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Emergency response is metro and corridor centred because that is where transport incidents and industrial facilities are, and response pay is built substantially from call-out and overtime rather than a base metro premium.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a hazmat technician’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does hazmat technician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Hazmat Technicians sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify hazmat technician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a hazmat technician actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Hazmat Technician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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