How much do hydraulics technicians make in 2026?
Hydraulics technicians are counted within the BLS industrial machinery mechanics series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 49-9041 national median at $64,520 a year ($31.02 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $46,120 and the top 10% at $95,170. Fluid power specialists generally sit at or above that median, because hydraulic faults are the ones plants and fleets cannot resolve by parts swapping. Diagnosing a system means reasoning about pressure and flow at once — reading a schematic, distinguishing a worn pump from a stuck relief valve or a failed pilot, understanding compensator and load-sense behaviour, and knowing that most failures trace back to contamination or heat rather than to the component that broke. That reasoning is scarce, and it separates the technicians who are called in from the mechanics who replace what the last person guessed. Pay differs by sector: mobile hydraulics on construction, agricultural and refuse equipment sits around the median; industrial press, injection moulding, marine, steel and hydro power work sits above it, and hose and cylinder shop work below. IFPS fluid power certification is the recognised credential. Employment is projected to grow 16.1% through 2034 with roughly 45,700 openings a year. → Full hydraulics technician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $64,520 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Hydraulics Technicians earn a national median $64,520/yr ($31.02/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-9041); the P10 to P90 range is $46,120 to $95,170.
- Hydraulics work has no dedicated BLS series; the figures come from SOC 49-9041, and fluid power specialists generally sit at or above the median of its $46,120 to $95,170 band.
- The paid skill is diagnosis, not replacement: reading schematics and reasoning about pressure and flow together is what plants and fleets pay a premium for.
- Industrial hydraulics — presses, moulding, steel, marine and hydro — pays above mobile equipment work, and IFPS certification is the credential that signals the difference.
US Hydraulics Technician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do hydraulics 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 49-9041; 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 49-9041, 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 hydraulics technician earn at each career stage?
Fluid power pay follows diagnostic reasoning and schematic literacy far more than component-changing experience. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 49-9041.
By State
Which states pay hydraulics technicians the most in 2026?
The state figures below are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Fluid power demand follows heavy equipment and process industry density: states with mining, forestry, agriculture, steel, marine or hydro activity support specialists at rates above what the modeled index implies, while light-manufacturing states mostly offer mobile equipment work.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($74,200), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay hydraulics technicians the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Hydraulics is also a notably mobile specialism: field service technicians cover wide territories from a service truck, so a metro premium is often less relevant than the call-out and travel structure of the employer.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a hydraulics 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 hydraulics technician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Hydraulics 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 hydraulics technician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a hydraulics 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
Hydraulics Technician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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