Salary report · Missouri · SOC 17-3024 · updated 2026-07-14

Mechatronics technician salary in Missouri (2026)

The median mechatronics technician salary in Missouri is $65,360 a year, or about $31.43 an hour, according to BLS data from May 2025. That's roughly 12% below the national median of $73,900, which puts Missouri 31st out of the 40 states BLS publishes a number for.

The reason isn't a shortage of work. It's the mix. Missouri's location quotient for this job is 0.8, meaning the state has slightly fewer of these technicians per worker than the country as a whole, and the plants that do hire (auto assembly, aerospace, food and beverage) tend to set pay against a lower Midwest cost base. So the top of the ladder is healthy, but the median sits under states like Illinois and Iowa next door.

Taylor Rupe, editor of MechatronicsPrograms.com

edited by , b.s. computer science · software engineer

updated

Missouri median

$65,360

$31.43/hr · BLS May 2025

Vs national

-12% vs US

US median $73,900

10th–90th range

$49,940–$96,990

BLS percentile span

Employed in MO

230

Location quotient 0.80

Mechatronics programs accepting students

How much does a mechatronics technician make in Missouri?

The spread here tells you more than the median does. Missouri's middle 50% of mechatronics technicians earn between $59,180 and $78,970. That's a wide band for a single job title, and it usually splits along industry lines: a technician keeping conveyors and sensors running at a distribution center sits near the bottom of that range, while someone programming and troubleshooting robotic cells on an auto line sits near the top.

The top 10% in Missouri clear $96,990, which is real money and close to the national 75th percentile. Those jobs go to the people who can do PLC programming, robotics integration and controls work, not just mechanical repair. With only about 230 of these technicians in the state and a location quotient of 0.8, demand is steady rather than booming, so the way you move up is usually by adding controls skills or moving to a plant that runs more automation, not by waiting for the market to lift everyone.

Mechatronics technician wage distribution: Missouri vs the US
Missouri $65,360 median
$49,900 $97,000
United States $73,900 median
$47,800 $109,900

Bar = middle 50% of wages (25th to 75th percentile). Line = 10th to 90th percentile span. Tick = median.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state and national estimates for SOC 17-3024, released 2026-04-30.
Percentile Missouri annual Missouri hourly US annual
10th$49,940$24.01/hr$47,840
25th$59,180$28.45/hr$59,780
50th (median)$65,360$31.43/hr$73,900
75th$78,970$37.97/hr$88,540
90th$96,990$46.63/hr$109,890

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates for SOC 17-3024 in Missouri.

Missouri mechatronics salary: BLS vs Salary.com vs Indeed

Three sources, three different numbers, and they don't agree because they measure different things. BLS says $65,360, and that's an employer survey of what companies actually pay people already on payroll under this specific job code. Salary.com models a lower $55,781 average from HR compensation data, which tends to run conservative for skilled trades. Indeed reports an average of $30.82 an hour (about $64,106 a year) from 59 reported salaries, which is a decent sample and lands close to the BLS figure.

When Indeed and BLS agree in the mid-$60Ks and only Salary.com is the outlier, trust the pair. Use $65,360 as your anchor when you negotiate, and push toward the $78,970 upper-quartile mark if the role involves PLC programming, robotics or controls rather than straight maintenance.

What each source reports for Missouri (annual)
BLS OEWS median $65,360

employer-reported survey

BLS OEWS mean $69,360

same survey, average

Salary.com average $55,781

as of July 1, 2026

Indeed average $64,106

59 salaries reported · hourly ×2,080

Dashed line = US median $73,900.

Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025; Salary.com and Indeed state pages retrieved 2026-07-14. Indeed hourly averages annualized at 2,080 hours.

Mechatronics programs accepting students

Mechatronics technician pay by metro area in Missouri

Metro-level BLS data is thin for a job this small, but Indeed puts the average in Springfield at $70,476 a year, which is above the statewide median. That's worth noting because Springfield isn't the state's biggest manufacturing hub. It suggests specific employers there are paying up for people who can keep automated lines running, and it's a reminder that the plant you work for matters more than the city you live in for this job.

Highest-paying Missouri cities per Indeed postings (annual)
Springfield $70,476

Dashed line = US median $73,900.

Source: Indeed posting-derived city averages, retrieved 2026-07-14. Small samples; treat as directional.

Job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Missouri

2024 jobs

260

2034 projected

260

Growth

0%

US: +0.7%

Openings / yr

20

Incl. replacement needs

Missouri's own projections (via MERIC, the state labor agency) model employment holding flat at 260 through 2034, a 0% change, with about 20 openings a year. Nationally BLS projects roughly 0.7% growth, so Missouri tracks just behind a national picture that's already close to flat.

Don't read flat headcount as no jobs, though. Those 20 annual openings against a base of 260 are mostly churn: retirements and people moving into engineering roles, not new positions. That's actually a reasonable amount of turnover for a small occupation, and it means openings show up steadily rather than in waves.

How Missouri compares with nearby states

Inside the Midwest, Missouri sits in the lower half for this job. Illinois, right across the river, pays a median of $79,400, and Iowa pays $73,010, both well above Missouri's $65,360. Missouri does beat some neighbors, though: Michigan comes in at $62,460 and Indiana at $47,440 despite both having far more of these technicians on payroll. So the pattern isn't east-to-west, it's plant-by-plant, and a St. Louis technician is a short drive from the higher Illinois market.

Median mechatronics technician wage across the Midwest (states with published BLS data)
North Dakota $82,820

90 employed

Illinois $79,400

250 employed

Wisconsin $76,290

580 employed

Ohio $73,050

350 employed

Iowa $73,010

180 employed

Nebraska $72,800

130 employed

Missouri $65,360

230 employed

Michigan $62,460

850 employed

Minnesota $61,670

400 employed

Indiana $47,440

290 employed

Dashed line = US median $73,900.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates for SOC 17-3024.

Who hires mechatronics technicians in Missouri

The clearest example is General Motors' Wentzville Assembly plant, about 40 miles west of St. Louis, a 3.7 million square foot facility that builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks plus full-size vans. Skilled-trades postings there ask for people who can read blueprints and maintain conveyor systems, material handling, and robots, which is exactly the mechatronics skill set.

Beyond auto, St. Louis and the surrounding metro pull in automation and maintenance technicians at distribution and logistics operations (Ryder has posted warehouse automation maintenance roles in Hazelwood) and across food, beverage and aerospace manufacturing. Union skilled-trades roles in the region have advertised in the $31 to $36.50 an hour range with benefits.

How to earn more as a mechatronics technician in Missouri

Stack controls and PLC certs

The gap between the $59,180 and $78,970 quartiles in Missouri is largely a skills gap. Technicians who can program and troubleshoot PLCs, robots and controls sit at the top; mechanical-only maintenance sits at the bottom. Adding a recognized automation or PLC credential is the most direct way to move up that band. See our certifications guide for which ones employers here actually ask for.

Cross the river into Illinois

If you're near St. Louis, geography is a lever. Illinois pays a median of $79,400 for this same job, roughly $14,000 above Missouri's $65,360, and its plants are a commute away. You don't have to move to earn the higher-market rate, you just have to be willing to work across the state line.

Step toward the engineer track

The ceiling on the technician title in Missouri is around $96,990 at the 90th percentile. To go past it, the move is into controls engineering, where the same automation skills pay more. Our controls engineer career guide and the full salary guide lay out what that jump requires and what it pays.

Mechatronics bachelor's programs accepting students

Missouri mechatronics technician salary widget (2026)

Running a school site, career center page, or trade publication? Embed this live Missouri salary card. It stays current when the underlying BLS release updates, and it costs nothing.

Embed this salary widget on your site

Free to use for schools, career centers, and publishers. Keep the data-credit link intact.

Missouri mechatronics technician salary FAQ

How much does a mechatronics technician make in Missouri?
What is the starting salary for a mechatronics technician in Missouri?
What is the highest paying city for mechatronics technicians in Missouri?
Is Missouri a good state for mechatronics technicians?
How does Missouri compare with Illinois for mechatronics technicians?
What is the job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Missouri?

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.

Keep reading

Mechatronics technician salary in nearby states