How much do scada technicians make in 2026?
SCADA technicians are counted in the BLS electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation and relay series: OEWS May 2025 gives SOC 49-2095 a national median of $103,020 a year ($49.53 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $65,730 and the top 10% at $129,920. The series pools SCADA work with relay and substation crafts, so read it as a utility electrical-technical band rather than a SCADA-specific measurement. The role sits at an unusual intersection. A SCADA technician installs, configures and maintains the remote terminal units, communications links and telemetry that let a control centre see and operate equipment miles away — which means being competent in substation and field electrical work, in communications and networking, and in the control system software that turns points into a screen an operator trusts. Few people are strong in all three, and the ones who are become difficult to replace quickly. Position in the band follows exactly that breadth, and increasingly also security: as regulators tightened critical infrastructure protection requirements, technicians who understand secure remote access, patching and compliance evidence for control systems moved to the top. Employment is projected to grow 5.5% through 2034 with roughly 2,000 openings a year. → Full scada technician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $103,020 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- SCADA Technicians earn a national median $103,020/yr ($49.53/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-2095); the P10 to P90 range is $65,730 to $129,920.
- SCADA work sits at the intersection of field electrical, communications and control system software — few technicians are strong in all three, and those who are become hard to replace.
- Critical infrastructure protection requirements have made secure remote access, patching and compliance evidence part of the job, and technicians who handle them sit at the top of the band.
- The series pools SCADA with relay and substation crafts, so $103,020 describes a family of utility electrical trades rather than SCADA alone.
US SCADA Technician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do scada 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 49-2095; 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 49-2095, 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 scada technician earn at each career stage?
SCADA pay follows how much of the chain — field device, communications path and control system point — you can commission and troubleshoot alone. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 49-2095.
By State
Which states pay scada technicians the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national powerhouse and relay repairer median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. SCADA rates are set by the utility's classification structure and by whether integrators are competing for the same technicians, which state wage levels do not capture.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($118,470), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay scada technicians the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations. Utility control centre locations matter more here than metro size.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a scada 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 scada technician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. SCADA 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 scada technician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a scada 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
SCADA Technician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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