HVAC apprentices typically earn $15–$22 per hour to start, or roughly $30,000–$45,000 per year. Pay rises on a set schedule as you complete hours — many apprentices reach 80–90% of journeyman wages by their final year, often $50,000 or more.
Key Takeaways
HVAC apprentices typically earn $15–$22 per hour to start, or roughly $30,000–$45,000 per year. Pay rises on a set schedule as you complete hours — many apprentices reach 80–90% of journeyman wages by their final year, often $50,000 or more.
Registered apprenticeships use a graduated wage scale: you begin around 40–50% of a journeyman’s rate and receive scheduled raises as you complete on-the-job and classroom hours. By the final year you are typically earning 80–90% of full journeyman pay.
Because apprenticeships pay from day one and usually carry no tuition, you avoid student debt entirely. Combined with about 2,000 paid OJT hours and 144+ classroom hours per year, it is one of the most cost-effective ways into the trade.
In states that license HVAC contractors, documented apprenticeship hours frequently satisfy the experience requirement, shortening your path to journeyman and eventually contractor status.