Which Cities Employ the Most HVAC Workers?
The BLS (May 2021) found that the following metropolitan divisions currently employ the highest number of HVAC mechanics and installers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
20,730 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
9,710 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
8,910 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
8,450 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
8,300 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
7,580 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
7,500 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
6,770 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
6,050 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
6,040 |
The data shows that the cities with the highest rate of employment are not always in the states of high employment. The New York-Newark-Jersey City area, for example, is first on the list; however, neither New York nor New Jersey overall is the highest-employment state for HVAC, although each ranks higher than some other states.
The BLS (May 2021) found that the following metropolitan divisions have the highest rate of pay for HVAC professionals:
| Metropolitan area |
Average Annual Salary |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$78,020 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
$76,750 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
$71,710 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
$70,850 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
$70,320 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
$70,200 |
| New Bedford, MA |
$68,300 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
$68,050 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
$67,830 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
$66,620 |
There is little correlation in these areas between employment and pay. At first glance, there appears to be some correlation in California, as it has three metropolitan divisions ranked as high-paying. Those areas, however, are in the northern part of the state, while the metropolitan area with the highest employment is in the southern part of the state.
In October 2020, WalletHub released its list of ‘2020’s Fastest-Growing Cities in America.’ Although their data doesn’t specifically address construction activity, growth requires new homes and workplaces, thus adding to the demand for HVAC installers and mechanics. The top ten are:
- Fort Myers, FL
- Bend, OR
- Meridian, ID
- Milpitas, CA
- Enterprise, NV
- Frisco, TX
- Town ‘n’ Country, FL
- Round Rock, TX
- Mount Pleasant, SC
- Nampa, ID
According to Quicken Loans (November 2021), the fastest-growing cities based on their overall population and what makes them attractive are as follows:
| City |
Percentage Population Growth in 2018 |
Median Household Income |
| Buckeye City, Arizona |
5 percent |
$61,469 |
| New Braunfels, Texas |
2 percent |
$65,932 |
| Apex, North Carolina |
8 percent |
$89,392 |
| Frisco, Texas |
6.1 percent |
$112,155 |
| Meridian, Idaho |
6.1 percent |
$63,225 |
| McKinney, Texas |
5.4 percent |
$87,608 |
| Georgetown, Texas |
5.2 percent |
$67,753 |
| Rowlett, Texas |
5.1 percent |
$83,442 |
| St. Cloud, Florida |
5 percent |
$48,911 |
| Ankeny, Iowa |
4.6 percent |
$79,536 |
There is little correlation between the two sets of statistics, as they cover different growth factors. What is worth noting is that the greatest increase in population growth is not in the cities that appear to be experiencing the most economic growth. Population growth and expanding economies both point to the need for HVAC technicians, although the systems they will be installing and servicing may require differing specialties.
Commercial Property Executive (CPE), a commercial real estate resource, compiles statistics from various industry reports. Their latest data (February 2018) shows the following cities as having the highest rates of construction:
- Seattle, WA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Denver, CO
- Chicago: IL
- Portland, OR
- Washington, DC
- New York City, NY
- Honolulu, HI
- Boston, MA
- Phoenix, AZ
Mixed-use buildings lead the way in new construction, followed by structures for residential, educational, commercial, healthcare, and hospitality use. Their criteria for determining the number of new buildings is the number of cranes at work. The data, therefore, only reflects construction in progress.
Additionally, Dodge Data & Analytics (2021) quoted that “the early months of the pandemic led to construction moratoriums and project delays in many of the country’s largest cities, resulting in very low levels of activity in April and May 2020. Additional insight on the health of these markets can be ascertained by comparing the first six months of 2021 to the same period in 2019—before the pandemic.”
Based on this, Dodge Data & Analytics shows the top ten metro areas for ‘commercial and multifamily construction starts’ during the first half of 2021:
- New York City, NY
- Dallas, TX
- Washington, DC
- Boston, MA
- Miami, FL
- Los Angeles, CA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Seattle, WA
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
Only five cities are on both lists, due to the varying criteria used and dates on which the data was collected.
