Statewide pay Government data
Diesel mechanics in Kentucky earn a statewide median of $55,480 a year, 8% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #46 of 50 states and DC. About 3,890 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Kentucky
See all states on the diesel mechanics nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes diesel mechanic pay for 6 Kentucky metros. The highest-paying is Paducah at $78,900, followed by Louisville/Jefferson County and Lexington.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PaducahKENTUCKY · KY | $78,900 | $91,655 | 190 |
| Louisville/Jefferson CountyKENTUCKY · KY | $61,310 | $65,872 | 1,480 |
| LexingtonKENTUCKY · KY | $57,470 | $61,870 | 390 |
| ElizabethtownKENTUCKY · KY | $53,290 | $58,837 | 130 |
| OwensboroKENTUCKY · KY | $53,040 | $59,858 | 60 |
| Bowling GreenKENTUCKY · KY | $51,920 | $57,574 | 200 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Kentucky's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines. Includes mechanics working primarily with automobile or marine diesel engines.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,400 openings a year. Typical training: long-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, diesel mechanics have 163 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.9× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often diesel 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.
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of diesel mechanic apprentices in Kentucky who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 29% completed (U.S.: 66%), about 6 graduates a year. The typical program runs 6,000 hours, about 3 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
Kentucky runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, truck and auto repair shops filed 277 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was contact with objects and equipment (55%).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Where to train in Kentucky Government data
15 schools in Kentucky offer 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.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $42,419 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Community and Technical College Louisville, KY · Public | Certificate | $10,222 | 670 | $52,449 |
| Somerset Community College Somerset, KY · Public | Certificate | $10,039 | 501 | $42,081 |
| Gateway Community and Technical College Florence, KY · Public | Certificate | $9,901 | 441 | $44,816 |
| Elizabethtown Community and Technical College Elizabethtown, KY · Public | Certificate | $9,900 | 336 | $48,908 |
| Hazard Community and Technical College Hazard, KY · Public | Certificate | $10,024 | 310 | $32,211 |
| Owensboro Community and Technical College Owensboro, KY · Public | Certificate | $9,964 | 195 | — |
| Maysville Community and Technical College Maysville, KY · Public | Certificate | $9,832 | 186 | $45,847 |
| Bluegrass Community and Technical College Lexington, KY · Public | Certificate | $10,028 | 182 | $42,268 |
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.
Licensing in Kentucky Official source
The main state licensing office in Kentucky is the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. The state licenses electrical, plumbing and HVAC; general contractors are licensed locally. It can point you to the right license for diesel mechanics.
Official Kentucky licensing site ↗
Requirements for diesel mechanics vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 8.9% of wage and salary workers in Kentucky were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#24 of 51 states and D.C.), and 10.5% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only diesel mechanics.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Kentucky
All trades in Kentucky.