How much does a mechatronics technician make in Nebraska?
The spread in Nebraska is narrow. The bottom 10% of mechatronics technicians earn around $59,330 and the top 10% earn $77,910. That is a much tighter gap than the national picture, where the top decile clears $109,890. When a distribution compresses like this, it usually means the state's employment is dominated by a handful of large, similar employers paying on structured wage scales rather than a wide mix of industries bidding against each other.
Notice too that the 75th and 90th percentiles are both $77,910. The data flattens at the top, so the highest earners here are not pulling far ahead of the upper-middle. If you want six-figure mechatronics money, you generally will not find it inside Nebraska's technician tier without stepping into a lead, supervisor, or controls-engineer role. The middle 50% sitting between $66,120 and $77,910 is where almost everyone in this job actually lands.
Bar = middle 50% of wages (25th to 75th percentile). Line = 10th to 90th percentile span. Tick = median.
| Percentile | Nebraska annual | Nebraska hourly | US annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $59,330 | $28.52/hr | $47,840 |
| 25th | $66,120 | $31.79/hr | $59,780 |
| 50th (median) | $72,800 | $35.00/hr | $73,900 |
| 75th | $77,910 | $37.46/hr | $88,540 |
| 90th | $77,910 | $37.46/hr | $109,890 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates for SOC 17-3024 in Nebraska.
Nebraska mechatronics salary: BLS vs Salary.com vs Indeed
The three common sources disagree sharply for Nebraska, and it is worth knowing why before you walk into a pay conversation. BLS reports a $72,800 median because it surveys actual employers about what they pay real workers on payroll. Salary.com models $55,311 from HR compensation databases, which tend to run low when they average across loosely related job titles. Indeed shows about $28.15 an hour (roughly $58,552 a year), but that figure rests on just 9 reported salaries, which is a thin sample that can swing on a few low postings.
When two of your three sources sit in the high $50,000s and the government employer survey says $72,800, trust the survey. BLS pulls from a far larger, verified pool. Use $72,800 as your anchor when you negotiate, and treat the Salary.com and Indeed numbers as floor estimates from smaller or noisier data, not the market rate.
employer-reported survey
same survey, average
as of July 01, 2026
9 salaries reported · hourly ×2,080
Dashed line = US median $73,900.
Job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Nebraska
2024 jobs
90
2034 projected
100
Growth
+7.9%
US: +0.7%
Openings / yr
10
Incl. replacement needs
Nebraska projects mechatronics technician employment to grow 7.9% between 2024 and 2034, rising from about 90 to 100 jobs. That growth rate dwarfs the national projection of 0.7% for the same occupation, so on a percentage basis the state is one of the faster-moving markets even though the raw job count is small.
The state expects roughly 10 openings a year. With only about 130 technicians employed, that number is not mostly new positions. Most openings come from turnover and retirements as existing techs move up or leave the field. That is normal for a small, specialized occupation, and it means timing matters: openings appear steadily but in low volume, so watch the larger plants directly. You can track state projections at NEworks, Nebraska's labor agency portal.
How Nebraska compares with nearby states
Inside the Midwest, Nebraska sits mid-pack and clusters tightly with its farm-belt neighbors. Iowa next door pays a nearly identical $73,010 median, and Ohio is close at $73,050. The regional standout is North Dakota at $82,820, about $10,000 above Nebraska, while Illinois ($79,400) and Wisconsin ($76,290) also pay meaningfully more. Nebraska outpaces the region's lower end, including Michigan at $62,460 and Indiana at $47,440.
90 employed
250 employed
580 employed
350 employed
180 employed
130 employed
230 employed
850 employed
400 employed
290 employed
Dashed line = US median $73,900.
Who hires mechatronics technicians in Nebraska
The biggest name is Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing in Lincoln, which has run since 1974 and now employs around 2,500 people building ATVs, side-by-sides, Jet Skis, passenger railcars, and aerospace parts. Its maintenance technician roles ask for an associate degree in an electro-mechanical field and comfort with ladder logic, PLCs, and industrial controls. Starting pay was posted around $32.23 an hour with an AAS degree, climbing toward $40.70 through the KawaTech advancement program.
Grand Island is the other hub. Hornady Manufacturing hires electro-mechanical technicians to keep PLC-controlled production equipment running, and McCain Foods runs a food processing plant there that staffs reliability technicians working on electronics and electromechanical systems. Between motorsports, ammunition, rail, and food processing, Nebraska's demand for this skill set is spread across genuinely different industries.
How to earn more as a mechatronics technician in Nebraska
Stack the controls certifications
Nebraska's top technician pay caps out around $77,910, and the plants here run on PLCs and ladder logic. The fastest way to move from the $66,120 lower-middle toward that ceiling is proving you can program and troubleshoot automation, not just replace parts. A recognized PLC and controls credential does exactly that. See our certifications guide for the stack that Nebraska employers like Kawasaki actually screen for.
Look one state over
Nebraska and Iowa pay almost the same ($72,800 versus $73,010), so a short move east does not help much. But North Dakota's $82,820 median runs about $10,000 higher, and Illinois pays $79,400. If you are open to relocating and Nebraska's flat top decile is holding you back, those two states offer real room above what you can earn here.
Step up to the engineer track
Because Nebraska's technician pay flattens at the top, the biggest jump is not another technician job, it is crossing into controls and automation engineering, where the national top decile reaches $109,890. That usually means adding a two-year degree or a bachelor's plus controls experience you can already build at plants like Kawasaki. Our controls engineer career guide and full salary guide map out the path and the pay.
Nebraska mechatronics technician salary widget (2026)
Running a school site, career center page, or trade publication? Embed this live Nebraska 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.
Nebraska mechatronics technician salary FAQ
How much does a mechatronics technician make in Nebraska?
What is the starting salary for a mechatronics technician in Nebraska?
Is Nebraska a good state for mechatronics technicians?
How does Nebraska compare with Iowa for mechatronics technicians?
Which employers hire mechatronics technicians in Nebraska?
What is the job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Nebraska?
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 Nebraska, as of July 01, 2026. HR-reported and modelled averages.
- Indeed, mechatronics technician salaries in Nebraska, based on 9 reported salaries. Posting-derived.
- Projections Central, 2024–2034 state occupational projections produced by Nebraska's labor market agency (state source).
- Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing maintenance technician posting (Lincoln, NE)
- Electro-mechanical technician jobs in Nebraska (Indeed)