How much does a mechatronics technician make in Alabama?
The spread here is wide. The bottom 10% of Alabama mechatronics technicians earn about $40,390 while the top 10% clear $102,650. That is a $62,000 gap between the floor and the ceiling, which tells you experience, plant, and industry matter far more than the job title itself.
The middle 50% land between roughly $49,220 and $85,280. So a typical Alabama technician with a few years in sits comfortably in the $50,000s to $60,000s, and the $85,280 upper-quartile mark is realistic once you are running automation at a large plant. The people breaking six figures are the senior controls and robotics techs at the big automotive and supplier sites.
Read the 0.31 location quotient carefully. It does not mean Alabama has no automation work. It means BLS files most plant automation staff under electrical, industrial, or maintenance titles instead of this specific code. The 70-job count is a labeling artifact, not a measure of how much work is out there.
Bar = middle 50% of wages (25th to 75th percentile). Line = 10th to 90th percentile span. Tick = median.
| Percentile | Alabama annual | Alabama hourly | US annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $40,390 | $19.42/hr | $47,840 |
| 25th | $49,220 | $23.66/hr | $59,780 |
| 50th (median) | $66,660 | $32.05/hr | $73,900 |
| 75th | $85,280 | $41.00/hr | $88,540 |
| 90th | $102,650 | $49.35/hr | $109,890 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates for SOC 17-3024 in Alabama.
Alabama mechatronics salary: BLS vs Salary.com vs Indeed
Three sources, three different numbers for Alabama. BLS says $66,660 (a median from a formal employer survey). Salary.com models $53,937 as an average from blended HR data. Indeed reports $27.64 an hour, which annualizes to about $57,491, but that figure rests on just 23 reported salaries, a small sample that swings fast when a few postings change. When numbers disagree this much, it is usually because job postings and modeled averages skew toward the entry and mid band, while the BLS survey captures the experienced techs the postings undercount.
For negotiating, anchor on the BLS median of $66,660 and bring the $85,280 upper-quartile figure to the table if you have automation and PLC experience. It is the cleanest employer-reported number, and it is the one a hiring manager is least able to argue down.
employer-reported survey
same survey, average
as of July 1, 2026
23 salaries reported · hourly ×2,080
Dashed line = US median $73,900.
Job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Alabama
2024 jobs
70
2034 projected
70
Growth
-2.7%
US: +0.7%
Openings / yr
10
Incl. replacement needs
Alabama's own projection has this job code shrinking about 2.7% by 2034, from 70 to 70 counted positions, which reads slightly worse than the flat national outlook of plus 0.7%. Do not read that as jobs drying up. The state still projects about 10 openings a year, and nearly all of those come from turnover and retirements rather than new positions, which is normal for a title with a small headcount and an aging skilled-trades workforce.
The bigger picture is that automation work in Alabama is growing under other titles. If you want to track the official state numbers, the Alabama Department of Labor publishes the occupational projections behind these figures.
How Alabama compares with nearby states
Inside the South, Alabama's $66,660 median lands mid-pack and below the regional leaders. Florida pays about $75,450 and Virginia about $74,880 for the same job, while neighbor Georgia sits close by at $68,720 and Mississippi actually edges ahead at $71,420. So Alabama is not the low end of the region, but it trails the states where defense, aerospace, and coastal manufacturing pull medians up.
500 employed
120 employed
90 employed
570 employed
70 employed
170 employed
270 employed
70 employed
70 employed
140 employed
190 employed
800 employed
1,800 employed
Dashed line = US median $73,900.
Who hires mechatronics technicians in Alabama
Alabama is a top-five vehicle-producing state, and the assembly plants are the biggest draw for automation and maintenance techs. Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Vance runs a dedicated mechatronics apprenticeship with Shelton State, Honda's plant in Lincoln keeps around 250 maintenance technicians on staff and hires roughly 20 a year, and Hyundai builds vehicles in Montgomery. Each of these sites runs heavy robotics and PLC-controlled lines that need mechatronics skills.
Beyond the automakers, the Alabama Robotics Technology Park in Decatur trains technicians on industrial robots and automation, and the state's dense network of Tier 1 auto suppliers hires the same skill set. If you are chasing the upper end of the pay range, the large automotive and supplier plants are where the $85,280-plus roles live.
How to earn more as a mechatronics technician in Alabama
Stack the certifications the plants actually screen for
Alabama's automotive and supplier plants run on PLCs, robots, and networked automation. A focused certification stack in Allen-Bradley or Siemens PLCs, industrial robotics, and safety pushes you from the $49,000 mid-band toward the $85,280 upper quartile faster than years alone will. These are the exact skills Mercedes, Honda, and Hyundai screen for.
Get inside a major automotive or supplier plant
The $62,000 gap between Alabama's pay floor and ceiling is mostly about where you work. A small shop pays near the $40,390 bottom decile. A large automotive plant or Tier 1 supplier running robotics pays into the $85,280-and-up band. Targeting the Vance, Lincoln, and Montgomery corridors is the single biggest lever on your paycheck in this state.
Look across the state line, or step up to the engineer track
Florida ($75,450) and Virginia ($74,880) pay noticeably more than Alabama's $66,660 for the same job, so a move can be worth almost $9,000 a year. If relocating is off the table, the bigger jump is up: moving from technician to the controls path can add real money. See the controls engineer career guide and the mechatronics salary guide to map that step.
Alabama mechatronics technician salary widget (2026)
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Alabama mechatronics technician salary FAQ
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Sources & methodology
Figures on this page come from four independent datasets, retrieved 2026-07-14. Where they disagree, the disagreement is shown rather than averaged away; the source-comparison section explains why each number differs.
- BLS OEWS, SOC 17-3024, May 2025 national and state estimates (state file oesm25st.zip). Employer-reported, the authoritative baseline.
- Salary.com, Mechatronics Technician in Alabama, as of July 1, 2026. HR-reported and modelled averages.
- Indeed, mechatronics technician salaries in Alabama, based on 23 reported salaries. Posting-derived.
- Projections Central, 2024–2034 state occupational projections produced by Alabama's labor market agency (state source).
- Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Mechatronics Program
- Made in Alabama: Auto industry skills and training