Auto Body Repairers in the Traverse City area earn a median of $48,450 a year, 6% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #259 of 363 metros for auto body repairers nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Green Bay and Muskegon, but less in Bay City.
It's one of 14 Michigan metros with published pay for this trade; see auto body repairer pay in Michigan.
Auto Body Repairer pay in Traverse City at a glance
- Auto body repairers in the Traverse City, MI metro earn a median $48,450 a year ($23.30 an hour), #259 of 363 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $38,780 and $81,300.
- After local prices, that median buys what $51,889 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,134 a month, 28% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among auto body repairers in Traverse City.
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for auto body repairers here is below average compared with other U.S. metros, and also below average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (4.6%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+2.2% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 43 one-person auto body & paint businesses averaging $110,070 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $65/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Traverse City scorecard for auto body repairers Our calculation
Grades compare Traverse City 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 ($51,680).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Traverse City Our calculation
Prices in the Traverse City area run 7% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $51,889 would in a typical place, ranking #282 of 361 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 cost-of-living budget for Traverse City from this pay, local rent and prices.
What auto body repairers do
Repair and refinish automotive vehicle bodies and straighten vehicle frames.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.
- Inspect repaired vehicles for proper functioning, completion of work, dimensional accuracy, and overall appearance of paint job, and test-drive vehicles to ensure proper alignment and handling.
- Fit and weld replacement parts into place, using wrenches and welding equipment, and grind down welds to smooth them, using power grinders and other tools.
- Prime and paint repaired surfaces, using paint sprayguns and motorized sanders.
- Follow supervisors' instructions as to which parts to restore or replace and how much time the job should take.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, auto body repairer jobs are projected to grow 3.7% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 12,600 openings a year. About 8% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often auto body repairers 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 Michigan Official source
The main state licensing office in Michigan is the LARA Bureau of Construction Codes. It can point you to the right license for auto body repairers.
Official Michigan licensing site ↗
Requirements for auto body repairers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, auto body repairers have 60 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 31% below the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying MI metros for auto body repairers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| DetroitMICHIGAN · MI | $62,550 | $62,364 | 2,130 |
| KalamazooMICHIGAN · MI | $57,250 | $60,365 | 210 |
| Grand RapidsMICHIGAN · MI | $56,770 | $59,416 | 680 |
| Battle CreekMICHIGAN · MI | $55,420 | $61,210 | 40 |
| Ann ArborMICHIGAN · MI | $54,400 | $53,925 | 140 |
| LansingMICHIGAN · MI | $53,760 | $56,595 | 190 |
| MonroeMICHIGAN · MI | $52,160 | $55,791 | 50 |
| NilesMICHIGAN · MI | $51,160 | $55,386 | 40 |
| MuskegonMICHIGAN · MI | $50,170 | $54,227 | 80 |
| JacksonMICHIGAN · MI | $49,730 | $54,185 | 60 |
See every metro in Michigan.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Traverse City area's unemployment rate was 4.6% in 2025 (all workers, not just auto body repairers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 5.2% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Traverse City area is 22 minutes each way, shorter than the typical metro (24 min). 10% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 73% drive alone, 1% take transit and 15% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Traverse City area's population grew 2.2% from 2020 to 2025 (153,666 → 156,972), ranking #211 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +5,927) account for more than all of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
New construction
New-home permits in Traverse City are down 34% from 2024 to 2025 (1,232 → 808).
In 2025 the Traverse City area approved permits for 808 new homes (786 single-family), or 5.2 per 1,000 residents, ranking #131 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 43 one-person businesses (no employees) in auto body & paint, averaging $110,070 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Traverse City compares among the best cities to start an auto body repairer business.
They compete with 26 auto body & paint companies that have employees (about 171 workers in total). 54% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Where to train near Traverse City Government data
1 school in or near Traverse City offers vehicle maintenance and repair programs below the bachelor's level. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Michigan College Traverse City, MI · Public | Certificate | $13,185 | 4 | — |
| Northwestern Michigan College Traverse City, MI · Public | Associate degree | $13,185 | 0 | — |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $48,450 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 auto body repairer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Traverse City with another city →
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Could this trade pay more somewhere else?
ToolBest cities for auto body repairersRank every metro on pay, buying power, rent and jobs.Is a job offer here any good?
ToolCheck an offer in Traverse CitySee where it falls among local auto body repairers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolTraverse City budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Traverse City 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 Traverse City against every other metro for auto body repairers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.