Appliance Repair Technicians in the Fort Wayne area earn a median of $41,290 a year, 18% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #116 of 125 metros for appliance repair technician salaries across the U.S..
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Elkhart and Toledo, but less in South Bend.
It's one of 7 Indiana metros with published pay for this trade; see statewide appliance repair technician pay.
Appliance Repair Technician pay in Fort Wayne at a glance
- Appliance repair technicians in the Fort Wayne, IN metro earn a median $41,290 a year ($19.85 an hour), #116 of 125 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $27,800 and $60,500.
- After local prices, that median buys what $44,603 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,015 a month, 29% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
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Enter a rate to see where it falls among appliance repair technicians in Fort Wayne.
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for appliance repair technicians here is in the bottom 20% of U.S. metros, and also in the bottom 20% once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is lower than in most metros (3.4%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+3.9% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 31 one-person appliance repair businesses averaging $24,581 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $58/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Fort Wayne scorecard for appliance repair technicians Our calculation
Grades compare Fort Wayne with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($50,540).
Pay over time
The median pay for appliance repair technicians in the Fort Wayne area went from $57,120 in 2020 to $41,290 in 2025, down 27.7%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -42.3% — a real pay cut. Some years are missing because BLS redrew or didn't publish this metro.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Fort Wayne Our calculation
Prices in Fort Wayne run 7% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $44,603 would in a typical place, ranking #115 of 125 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
Want the full picture? Build a Fort Wayne budget on this pay from this pay, local rent and prices.
What appliance repair technicians do
Repair, adjust, or install all types of electric or gas household appliances, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ovens.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment.
- Observe and examine appliances during operation to detect specific malfunctions such as loose parts or leaking fluid.
- Talk to customers or refer to work orders to establish the nature of appliance malfunctions.
- Refer to schematic drawings, product manuals, and troubleshooting manuals to diagnose and repair problems.
- Trace electrical circuits, following diagrams, and conduct tests with circuit testers and other equipment to locate shorts and grounds.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, appliance repair technician jobs are projected to grow 1.9% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 2,800 openings a year. About 20% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often appliance repair technicians deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Licensing in Indiana Official source
The main state licensing office in Indiana is the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. The state licenses plumbers; most other trades are licensed locally. It can point you to the right license for appliance repair technicians.
Official Indiana licensing site ↗
Requirements for appliance repair technicians vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, appliance repair technicians have 327 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 3.8× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying IN metros for appliance repair technicians
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| IndianapolisINDIANA · IN | $49,900 | $52,144 | 340 |
| ElkhartINDIANA · IN | $46,900 | $51,924 | 40 |
| LafayetteINDIANA · IN | $44,130 | $47,233 | 40 |
| Fort WayneINDIANA · IN | $41,290 | $44,603 | 70 |
| South BendINDIANA · IN | $37,340 | $40,212 | 60 |
| Terre HauteINDIANA · IN | $35,360 | $40,275 | 50 |
| EvansvilleINDIANA · IN | $34,690 | $37,901 | 30 |
See every metro in Indiana.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Fort Wayne area's unemployment rate was 3.4% in 2025 (all workers, not just appliance repair technicians), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 3.8% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Fort Wayne area is 23 minutes each way, about the same as the typical metro (24 min). 8% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 76% drive alone, 0% take transit and 8% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Fort Wayne area's population grew 3.9% from 2020 to 2025 (448,605 → 466,258), ranking #127 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +10,810) account for most of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Fort Wayne
The Fort Wayne area has about 197,640 homes. 54% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is older than most; 13% were built in 2010 or later. Older homes often need more repair, replacement and upgrade work. 72% of households own their home, and the median home value is $245,800.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Fort Wayne are down 17% from 2021 to 2025 (1,978 → 1,641).
In 2025 the Fort Wayne area approved permits for 1,641 new homes (1,449 single-family), or 3.6 per 1,000 residents, ranking #189 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 31 one-person businesses (no employees) in appliance repair, averaging $24,581 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Fort Wayne compares among the best cities to start an appliance repair technician business.
They compete with 4 appliance repair companies that have employees (about 10 workers in total). 75% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $41,290 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get appliance repair technician pricing & estimate templates →Compare Fort Wayne with another city →
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ToolFort Wayne budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Fort Wayne metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Fort Wayne against every other metro for appliance repair technicians. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.