Auto Mechanics in the San Juan area earn a median of $22,760 a year, 53% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #388 of 392 metros for auto mechanic pay nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Ponce.
It's one of 5 Puerto Rico metros with published pay for this trade; see auto mechanics across Puerto Rico.
Auto Mechanic pay in San Juan at a glance
- Auto mechanics in the San Juan, PR metro earn a median $22,760 a year ($10.94 an hour), #388 of 392 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $21,840 and $39,420.
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $581 a month, 31% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
- About 2,750 auto mechanics work in the metro.
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Enter a rate to see where it falls among auto mechanics in San Juan.
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for auto mechanics here is in the bottom 20% of U.S. metros.
San Juan scorecard for auto mechanics Our calculation
Grades compare San Juan with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers.
Pay over time
The median pay for auto mechanics in the San Juan area went from $20,970 in 2020 to $22,760 in 2025, up 8.5%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -13.4% — a real pay cut.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
Rent in San Juan
Typical rent is $581 a month for a 1-bedroom and $683 for a 2-bedroom.
What auto mechanics do
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Follow checklists to ensure all important parts are examined, including belts, hoses, steering systems, spark plugs, brake and fuel systems, wheel bearings, and other potentially troublesome areas.
- Test and adjust repaired systems to meet manufacturers' performance specifications.
- Perform routine and scheduled maintenance services, such as oil changes, lubrications, and tune-ups.
- Inspect vehicles for damage and record findings so that necessary repairs can be made.
- Align wheels, axles, frames, torsion bars, and steering mechanisms of automobiles, using special alignment equipment and wheel-balancing machines.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, auto mechanic jobs are projected to grow 5.0% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 66,200 openings a year. About 15% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often auto mechanics deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes medium preparation (vocational training or an apprenticeship, often 1–2+ years).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Licensing in Puerto Rico Official source
Check with local authorities in Puerto Rico. Check with the building or licensing office where you plan to work.
Requirements for auto mechanics vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, auto mechanics have 204 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 2.4× 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 PR metros for auto mechanics
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San JuanPUERTO RICO · PR | $22,760 | — | 2,750 |
| MayaguezPUERTO RICO · PR | $22,400 | — | 220 |
| AreciboPUERTO RICO · PR | $22,340 | — | 200 |
| AguadillaPUERTO RICO · PR | $22,030 | — | 240 |
| PoncePUERTO RICO · PR | $21,920 | — | 250 |
See every metro in Puerto Rico.
How much work is there? Government data
Getting to work
The average commute in the San Juan area is 30 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 22% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 82% drive alone, 1% take transit and 6% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
In 2025 the San Juan area approved permits for 1,546 new homes (1,459 single-family), or 0.8 per 1,000 residents, ranking #371 of 393 metros.
Where to train near San Juan Government data
10 schools in or near San Juan offer vehicle maintenance and repair programs below the bachelor's level, 1 of them at public colleges. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $19,157 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mech-Tech College Caguas, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $20,396 | 690 | $20,287 |
| Automeca Technical College-Bayamon Bayamon, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $14,414 | 299 | $19,157 |
| Caribbean Aviation Training Institute Inc Carolina, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $20,613 | 106 | — |
| Automeca Technical College-Caguas Caguas, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $15,109 | 85 | $19,157 |
| Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Education-PRAMI Fajardo, PR · Public | Certificate | $13,900 | 71 | — |
| Liceo de Arte y Tecnologia San Juan, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $18,900 | 34 | $16,476 |
| Mech-Tech College Caguas, PR · Private for-profit | Associate degree | $20,396 | 23 | — |
| American Technical Institute Bayamon, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $11,564 | 22 | $19,112 |
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 $22,760 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 mechanic pricing & estimate templates →Compare San Juan with another city →
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ToolSan Juan budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the San Juan 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 San Juan against every other metro for auto mechanics. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.
Report a data issue on this page
BEA doesn't publish price levels for San Juan, so real pay isn't shown. The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for auto mechanics as a separate industry, so that section is left out.