Mechatronics technician salary in Washington (2026)

How much does a mechatronics technician make in Washington?

The spread here is the story. The bottom 10% of mechatronics technicians in Washington earn about $61,540, while the top 10% clear $117,760. That is a gap of more than $56,000 between the two ends, which is unusually wide for this job. It tells you the title covers everything from entry-level maintenance techs to senior controls specialists on Boeing floors and Navy contracts.

The middle 50% land between $70,890 and $110,650, so even the 25th percentile in Washington ($70,890) sits close to the national median. If you are competent and hold a couple of certifications, the state's floor is high. The jump from median ($81,220) to the 75th percentile ($110,650) is where the aerospace and shipyard money lives, so the ceiling is worth chasing.

The location quotient of 1.6, paired with 570 techs employed, says demand is real and above average, not just a high-wage fluke. Washington concentrates this work more than most states, which usually means steadier hiring and more room to move between employers without leaving the region.

Washington mechatronics salary: BLS vs Salary.com vs Indeed

Three sources, three very different numbers. BLS reports a Washington median of $81,220 from its employer wage survey. Salary.com models an average of $63,660 as of July 2026, and Indeed pegs job postings at $30.49 an hour, which annualizes to about $63,419 across a sample of 58 reported salaries. So the two commercial sources land about $18,000 below BLS.

The gap usually comes down to what each source measures. BLS surveys actual employer payrolls, including the senior aerospace and shipyard techs who pull the average up. Salary.com models generic HR benchmarks that don't fully capture Washington's high-wage clusters, and Indeed reflects whatever employers chose to advertise, which skews toward entry-level openings. For a state this concentrated in aerospace, BLS is the number to walk into a negotiation with. Use $81,220 as your median anchor and the $110,650 upper-quartile figure as your target if you have experience.

Mechatronics technician pay by metro area in Washington

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro is where the money is. Techs there earn a median of $100,090, nearly $19,000 above the statewide median, with a mean of $96,460 and a location quotient of 1.75. That metro alone holds 360 of the state's 570 jobs, so most of Washington's mechatronics work, and its best pay, is clustered around Puget Sound.

The Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard area tells a different story. It has only 40 techs but a location quotient of 3.98, nearly four times the national concentration, driven by the naval shipyard. Median pay there is $80,380, close to the state median. So Bremerton is a small, dense pocket of demand rather than a top-pay destination.

Job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Washington

Washington's Employment Security Department projects this occupation to grow 1.9% between 2024 and 2034, roughly triple the national projection of 0.7%. That is slow growth in absolute terms, but positive and above the US pace, which fits a state where the base of demand is already large.

The state expects about 20 openings a year. Most of those come from turnover and retirements, not brand-new positions, since the projected headcount barely changes. That is normal for a skilled trade: the jobs open up as people move up or retire, so being ready with certifications when a Boeing or shipyard seat comes free matters more than raw growth. You can check the underlying numbers at the Washington Employment Security Department.

How Washington compares with nearby states

Inside the West, Washington's $81,220 median sits mid-pack and clusters tightly with its bigger neighbors. California pays $81,550 and Nevada $82,010, both within a few hundred dollars, while New Mexico is the regional outlier at $119,320 thanks to its national-lab work. Oregon, just across the Columbia River, trails at $67,140, so if you are near Portland the higher-paying side of that border is Washington.

Who hires mechatronics technicians in Washington

Boeing is the biggest name. The company actively recruits Mechatronics Maintenance Technicians across its Washington sites, including Auburn, Tukwila, Everett, and Lake Stevens, to maintain and troubleshoot automated tooling and multi-axis robotic equipment on its commercial airplane lines. The postings typically ask for an associate degree in mechatronics, industrial robotics, or electronics plus a year of field experience.

Beyond Boeing, the aerospace supply chain around Everett hires for these roles too, with Collins Aerospace among the employers recruiting technicians in the area. Everett Community College runs a Mechatronics / Maintenance Technician program feeding that pipeline, which is a useful signal of where local demand sits.

How to earn more as a mechatronics technician in Washington

Stack the certifications employers screen for

Washington's pay floor is already high, but the jump from the $81,220 median to the $110,650 upper quartile rewards proof you can run PLCs, robotics, and controls. A focused certification stack is the fastest way to move from a maintenance-tech line to a controls line without changing employers.

Target the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro

Location is the single biggest lever in this state. Techs in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro earn a median of $100,090, nearly $19,000 more than the statewide median of $81,220, and that metro holds 360 of Washington's 570 jobs. If you are in a lower-paying part of the state, moving toward Puget Sound is where the money and the openings are.

Step up to the controls engineer track

The top 10% of Washington technicians clear $117,760, which is where the tech ceiling meets the engineer floor. Moving into a controls or automation engineering role lifts that ceiling further. See how the roles compare in our controls engineer guide and the full mechatronics salary guide.

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 Washington, as of July 1, 2026. HR-reported and modelled averages.
• Indeed, mechatronics technician salaries in Washington, based on 58 reported salaries. Posting-derived.
• Projections Central, 2024–2034 state occupational projections produced by Washington's labor market agency (state source).
• Boeing Mechatronics Maintenance Technician job posting (Auburn, WA)
• Everett Community College Mechatronics / Maintenance Technician program