Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes diesel mechanic pay for 5 Puerto Rico metros. The highest-paying is Ponce at $46,280, followed by Arecibo and Mayaguez.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PoncePUERTO RICO · PR | $46,280 | — | 60 |
| AreciboPUERTO RICO · PR | $43,920 | — | 40 |
| MayaguezPUERTO RICO · PR | $41,460 | — | 60 |
| San JuanPUERTO RICO · PR | $39,690 | — | 700 |
| AguadillaPUERTO RICO · PR | $30,510 | — | 50 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
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.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico Government data
12 schools in Puerto Rico 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 |
| Automeca Technical College-Aguadilla Aguadilla, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $14,241 | 205 | $19,157 |
| Automeca Technical College-Ponce Ponce, PR · Private for-profit | Certificate | $13,908 | 178 | $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 |
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 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 diesel mechanics vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Cities in Puerto Rico
All trades in Puerto Rico.