Appliance Repair Technicians in the Salem area earn a median of $39,030 a year, 23% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #119 of 125 metros for appliance repair technician pay nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Portland and Eugene.
It's one of 4 Oregon metros with published pay for this trade; see appliance repair technicians across Oregon.
Appliance Repair Technician pay in Salem at a glance
- Appliance repair technicians in the Salem, OR metro earn a median $39,030 a year ($18.76 an hour), #119 of 125 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $30,920 and $62,230.
- After local prices, that median buys what $37,656 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,294 a month, 40% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among appliance repair technicians in Salem.
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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 higher than in most metros (5.0%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+2.7% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 30 one-person appliance repair businesses averaging $76,267 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $56/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Salem scorecard for appliance repair technicians Our calculation
Grades compare Salem 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 Salem area went from $45,650 in 2020 to $39,030 in 2025, down 14.5%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -31.8% — 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 Salem Our calculation
Prices in the Salem area run 4% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $37,656 would in a typical place, ranking #125 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 monthly budget for Salem 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 Oregon Official source
The main state licensing office in Oregon is the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. It can point you to the right license for appliance repair technicians.
Official Oregon 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 OR metros for appliance repair technicians
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PortlandOREGON · OR | $58,450 | $55,444 | 460 |
| BendOREGON · OR | $54,330 | $52,439 | 40 |
| EugeneOREGON · OR | $51,150 | $50,360 | 50 |
| SalemOREGON · OR | $39,030 | $37,656 | 50 |
See every metro in Oregon.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Salem area's unemployment rate was 5.0% in 2025 (all workers, not just appliance repair technicians), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 5.0% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Salem area is 25 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 13% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 71% drive alone, 1% take transit and 11% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Salem area's population grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025 (434,267 → 445,814), ranking #188 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +9,291) account for most of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Salem
The Salem area has about 171,685 homes. 48% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is about as old as most; 13% were built in 2010 or later. 62% of households own their home, and the median home value is $447,000.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Salem are down 34% from 2021 to 2025 (2,154 → 1,426).
In 2025 the Salem area approved permits for 1,426 new homes (873 single-family), or 3.2 per 1,000 residents, ranking #210 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 30 one-person businesses (no employees) in appliance repair, averaging $76,267 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Salem compares among the best cities to start an appliance repair technician business.
They compete with 7 appliance repair companies that have employees (about 33 workers in total). 57% 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 $39,030 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 Salem with another city →
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ToolBest cities for appliance repair techniciansRank every metro on pay, buying power, rent and jobs.Is a job offer here any good?
ToolCheck an offer in SalemSee where it falls among local appliance repair technicians, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolSalem budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Salem 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 Salem against every other metro for appliance repair technicians. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.