National pay breakdown: every percentile, annual & hourly
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey covers roughly 1.2 million establishments and is mandatory for sampled employers. The May 2025 release was published 2026-04-30. Robotics technicians fall under SOC 17-3024 (Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians), the BLS does not break the title out separately because the skill set, PLC programming, sensor and actuator troubleshooting, and electrical-mechanical maintenance on automated equipment, is functionally the same across robot cells, CNC cells, and broader mechatronic systems. Here is the full national distribution:
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage | Typical robotics-tech profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $47,840 | $23.00/hr | First role, FANUC Operator cert only, no PLC fluency |
| 25th | $59,780 | $28.74/hr | 1-3 years, one robot vendor + entry PLC work |
| 50th (median) | $73,900 | $35.53/hr | 5-10 years, FANUC or ABB Maintenance + ControlLogix proficiency |
| 75th | $88,540 | $42.57/hr | Multi-vendor lead, automotive welding cell or warehouse automation |
| 90th | $109,890 | $52.83/hr | Vendor field service engineer, semiconductor or surgical robotics service |
| Mean | $76,420 | $36.74/hr | Pulled above median by the long upper tail at vendor field service tier |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, national cross-industry estimate for SOC 17-3024 (national_M2025_dl.xlsx, released 2026-04-30).
The annual figures assume 2,080 paid hours. Robotics-heavy plants almost always run overtime (automotive welding cells, warehouse-automation fulfillment centers, semiconductor fabs all run 24/7 or near it), so cash compensation typically runs 5-15% above the base annual number once OT and shift differential are included. Add another 8-12% benefits load when comparing to a 1099 contracting alternative.
By experience level: entry, mid-career, and late-career
The BLS OEWS does not publish wages by years of experience, so the percentile-to-experience mapping pulls from two complementary data sources. Posting-title data for "Robotics Technician" specifically is also lower than the BLS SOC because the posted title skews entry-level (you'll see why in the table below):
| Tier | Posting avg (Robotics Tech title) | BLS percentile match | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry (0-1 yr) | $46,000-$52,000 | ~10-25th | FANUC Certified Robot Operator only, no PLC depth |
| Intermediate (2-4 yr) | $55,000-$68,500 | ~25-50th | First vendor maintenance cert, can recover from common faults independently |
| Senior (5-9 yr) | $67,913-$86,500 | ~50-75th | Multi-vendor fluency (FANUC + ABB or KUKA), owns a critical cell or area |
| Late career (10+ yr) | $86,500-$109,534 | ~75-90th | Lead tech, vendor field service engineer, or shift to controls-specialist title |
Posting averages assembled from ZipRecruiter "Robotics Technician" (May 2026, $58,744 avg, 25-75 range $46K-$68.5K) and Glassdoor "Robotics Technician" (May 2026, $85,753 avg, 25-75 range $67,913-$109,534). BLS percentile match is interpolated against the SOC 17-3024 distribution.
Honesty about the gap. ZipRecruiter's average for "Robotics Technician" ($58,744) sits ~20% below the BLS SOC median ($73,900) and Glassdoor's average ($85,753) sits above it. The reason is sample composition. Posting-aggregators with low salary-disclosure rates capture mostly entry-tier ads from small integrators and tier-3 plants. Glassdoor's self-reported pool skews toward larger employers (Tesla, Boston Dynamics, Intuitive Surgical) and reflects total comp including stock. BLS captures every establishment that meets sample thresholds, which is why its median sits in the middle. Use BLS to negotiate cross-employer offers, use the posting-title data to evaluate specific job ads.
By state: where the wages run highest and where the jobs concentrate
Two different lists matter for a robotics-track tech. The top-paying states are dominated by supply-constrained anomalies (New Mexico) and high cost-of-living markets (California, Washington, Maryland). The top-employment states are where the actual robotics jobs live: Michigan and Ohio for automotive welding cells, Tennessee and Indiana for tier-1 supplier automation, California for semiconductor wafer-handling robotics and Tesla, Massachusetts for Boston Dynamics, iRobot, and the broader Route 128 cluster.
Top 10 states by mean annual wage
| Rank | State | Mean wage | Median wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $110,820 | $119,320 | 670 |
| 2 | California | $92,350 | $81,550 | 1,850 |
| 3 | North Dakota | $92,220 | $82,820 | 90 |
| 4 | Maryland | $90,100 | $75,330 | 90 |
| 5 | Alaska | $90,060 | $80,290 | 40 |
| 6 | Washington | $89,820 | $81,220 | 570 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $87,030 | $81,860 | 140 |
| 8 | Illinois | $82,920 | $79,400 | 250 |
| 9 | Nevada | $80,230 | $82,010 | 220 |
| 10 | Arizona | $79,560 | $80,930 | 120 |
Top 10 states by total employment
| Rank | State | Employment | Mean wage | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 1,850 | $92,350 | $81,550 |
| 2 | Texas | 1,800 | $64,270 | $54,460 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 920 | $75,050 | $73,630 |
| 4 | Michigan | 850 | $68,210 | $62,460 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 800 | $66,920 | $63,330 |
| 6 | New Mexico | 670 | $110,820 | $119,320 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 650 | $73,330 | $74,710 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 580 | $76,080 | $76,290 |
| 9 | Colorado | 570 | $71,540 | $74,730 |
| 10 | Virginia | 570 | $79,180 | $74,880 |
Source: BLS OEWS state estimates (May 2025), state_M2025_dl.xlsx for SOC 17-3024. Total US employment for the SOC is 15,520.
Where the robot density actually is. Michigan and Ohio are the densest robotics-technician markets in the US even when the wage averages don't lead the table. The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro alone employs about 610 SOC-17-3024 workers (third-largest metro nationally), concentrated in Ford Rouge, GM Detroit-Hamtramck, Stellantis Jefferson North, and the tier-1 supplier ring (Magna, Lear, ZF, Continental) that builds and maintains welding and assembly cells. Toledo, OH ($99,330 mean) is the highest-paying mid-sized automotive metro because of the Jeep Wrangler plant plus glass and aerospace robotics work in the metro area.
California is the high-density, high-pay outlier. Bay Area employers include Tesla Fremont, Lam Research and Applied Materials (semiconductor wafer-handling robotics), Boston Dynamics' West Coast service presence, and the Intuitive Surgical service network for da Vinci robots. The combined Bay Area employment + wage premium is the largest of any single US metro, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont leads the national metro table at $112,060 mean.
By metro: top-paying metro areas in the US
Metro-level data narrows the picture. The top-paying robotics-technician metro in the US is San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont at $112,060 mean (BLS OEWS May 2025), driven by Tesla Fremont, Lam Research, Applied Materials, and the Bay Area medical robotics cluster (Intuitive Surgical in Sunnyvale, Stryker Mako in Fremont).
| Rank | Metro | Mean wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $112,060 | 290 |
| 2 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $103,660 | 30 |
| 3 | Toledo, OH | $99,330 | 40 |
| 4 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $98,940 | 500 |
| 5 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $96,460 | 360 |
| 6 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $90,130 | 80 |
| 7 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $88,340 | 50 |
| 8 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $86,580 | 80 |
| 9 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $86,340 | 40 |
| 10 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $86,160 | 540 |
Source: BLS OEWS metropolitan area estimates (May 2025), MSA_M2025_dl.xlsx.
The largest metros by SOC-17-3024 employment are Boston-Cambridge-Newton (750, Boston Dynamics, iRobot, Symbotic, Vicarious Surgical), Detroit-Warren-Dearborn (610, automotive welding cells), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (540, semiconductor and medical robotics), Los Angeles (500), and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (360, Amazon Robotics + Boeing). Boston is the under-priced large robotics market, top of the table for employment but only 8% above the national mean despite its higher cost of living.
By industry: where the role pays the most
Industry assignment matters more than most candidates realize. Per BLS OEWS May 2025 industry-level estimates for SOC 17-3024:
| Industry | Mean wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | $111,920 | 120 |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $108,380 | 60 |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | $100,980 | 100 |
| Support Activities for Transportation | $91,070 | 70 |
| Support Activities for Mining | $89,040 | 100 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $83,190 | 4,250 |
| Machinery Manufacturing | $71,520 | 1,800 |
| Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | $68,750 | 1,700 |
| Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | $83,740 | 1,380 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | $76,390 | 660 |
Top of table: top-paying industries. Bottom of table: largest-employing industries. Source: BLS OEWS industry-specific national estimates (May 2025).
The largest-employing industries for a robotics technician are Transportation Equipment Manufacturing (~1,400 workers, $83,740 mean) and Computer / Electronic Product Manufacturing (~1,700 workers). Transportation Equipment is the automotive welding and paint cell bucket, every OEM and tier-1 supplier in this category runs FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa Motoman, and Kawasaki cells that need ongoing maintenance, recovery, and reprogramming. Computer / Electronic Product Manufacturing covers semiconductor fabs (Intel, TSMC, Samsung, Micron, GlobalFoundries) plus electronics assembly (Foxconn, Jabil, Flex), where wafer-handling robots and SCARA assembly arms are the dominant platforms.
Two robotics-dense industries worth calling out that don't appear in the BLS top-5 lists but matter for posting volume: warehouse and storage (Amazon Robotics, Symbotic, GreyOrange, Locus Robotics, Berkshire Grey) and medical equipment manufacturing and service (Intuitive Surgical, Stryker Mako, Smith+Nephew CORI). Postings in these segments use the "Robotics Technician" or "Mechatronics Technician" title interchangeably and run $58K to $95K base depending on tier and metro.
By employer: what specific companies pay robotics technicians
The BLS does not publish employer-specific wages, so this section pulls from company-disclosed posting ranges (Tesla and Boston Dynamics publish enough to triangulate) and aggregated self-reported data at the rest of the major robotics employers. Where the data is for the broader technician title rather than robotics-specific, the table notes it.
| Employer | Role basis | Reported pay | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla (Fremont, Sparks, Austin) | Automation Systems Tech | $32.00-$48.27/hr | Optimus + production-line robotics group. Annualizes ~$66.5K-$100.4K base, plus stock |
| Amazon Robotics (RME) | RMET (broad) | ~$57,045 avg | ZipRecruiter aggregated. 25-75 range $37K-$70K. Apprenticeship paid from day one |
| Amazon (Mechatronics Tech tier) | Mechatronics Tech 3/4 | $75K-$122K base | Per Glassdoor aggregated. Higher tier inside RME, requires demonstrated PLC + robotics depth |
| Boston Dynamics (Billerica, MA) | Robotics Operations Tech III-V | $27.50-$48.00/hr | Tier III $27.50-$35.60/hr, Tier V $40.44-$48.00/hr per posted ranges |
| FANUC America (field service) | Field Service Engineer | $82K-$114K total | Glassdoor avg. Salary.com puts Fanuc America Corp avg at $98,851-$116,608 |
| BMW Spartanburg, SC | Production Tech (broad) | $50K-$58K base | Plus shift diff and OT. Below national median for SOC 17-3024 |
| Toyota Mississippi | Production Tech (broad) | $50K-$60K base | Cost-of-living index ~88 helps the real number |
| Ford / GM / Stellantis (Detroit) | Skilled Trades Robot Tech | $32-$42/hr | UAW master agreement scale; ~$66K-$87K base, OT pushes cash to $90K+ |
| Siemens (field service) | Field Service Tech | $75K-$95K base | Travel-heavy; per-diem and lodging employer-paid |
| Rockwell Automation (field) | Field Service Tech | $78K-$98K base | Allen-Bradley platform depth required |
Tesla figures are posted hourly ranges for Automation Systems Technician (Optimus / production robotics) from current job postings. Amazon RME and Mechatronics tier figures are from ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor aggregated data. Boston Dynamics tiers are from posted job ranges. FANUC field service figures combine Glassdoor and Salary.com (Fanuc America Corp). All other rows are broader-technician averages assembled from published postings, employer transparency disclosures, and union scale where applicable. Treat as a range, not an offer.
The pattern that matters for a robotics-specific career: tier-1 robotics employers (Tesla, Amazon RME Mechatronics, Boston Dynamics, FANUC field service) cluster $20K-$40K above the BLS median, generalist OEM production-tech roles cluster $15K-$25K below it. The same FANUC and PLC skill set is being applied either way. The pay delta is who employs you and what they do with the robots, not what the work feels like day to day.
By certification: what each robot-vendor credential is worth
Posted-wage data from Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and FANUC Authorized Training Center pricing shows where each robotics credential actually moves pay. These are posting-medians, not BLS-authoritative, but they reflect what employers advertise:
- FANUC Certified Robot Operator (high school / CC CERT level): $46K-$56K base. Common entry posting. Operator-tier roles cap quickly without a maintenance follow-up.
- FANUC Certified Robot Technician + 3 yrs floor: $65K-$82K base. Automotive welding-cell roles cluster here. Authorized Training Center course pricing runs $1,200-$2,500 for the underlying TPP, KAREL, and Electrical Maintenance modules.
- ABB Robot Service certification + IRC5 or OmniCore experience: $62K-$80K base. ABB-heavy plants (some automotive, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals) prioritize this.
- KUKA System Software maintenance + KSS 8.x fluency: $63K-$82K base. German OEM presence (BMW, Mercedes, VW) and aerospace work concentrates KUKA exposure.
- Yaskawa Motoman service track + DX200 or YRC1000 experience: $60K-$78K base. Strong in arc welding cells across tier-1 automotive suppliers.
- Rockwell ControlLogix / Studio 5000 fluency (vendor cert or demonstrated): $68K-$92K base. The highest-leverage non-robot-specific cert for US discrete manufacturing because every robot cell is wrapped in PLC logic.
- FANUC Field Service Engineer (employed by FANUC America): $82K-$114K total comp (Glassdoor). Salary.com puts Fanuc America Corp average at $98,851-$116,608 for the role.
- Universal Robots URCap developer + 2 yrs cobot experience: $65K-$85K base in postings. Collaborative-robot integration work, electronics assembly and small-batch CNC tending.
See our full mechatronics and robotics certification guide for the credential-by-credential cost, length, and employer-recognition breakdown.
Year-over-year wage trend
BLS OEWS releases roll one year at a time. Here is how SOC 17-3024 pay (which covers robotics technicians) has moved across the last three releases:
| Data period | Median annual | YoY change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | $66,490 | n/a | Baseline |
| May 2024 | $70,760 | +6.4% | Post-CHIPS-Act fab hiring + Amazon Robotics expansion |
| May 2025 | $73,900 | +4.4% | Continued growth, slightly slower than 2024 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2023, May 2024, and May 2025 national releases for SOC 17-3024.
For context: NAM's manufacturing wage index reported +4.5% growth across all production occupations in 2025. Robotics-technician wage growth at +4.4% is tracking the manufacturing-wide rate, above the all-industry US wage growth of roughly +3.5%. The underlying drivers are durable: warehouse automation continues to scale (Amazon Robotics added an estimated 50,000+ units in 2024-2025), every major automotive OEM is reshoring at least some EV-platform tooling, and the CHIPS-Act-funded fabs (Intel Ohio, TSMC Arizona, Samsung Texas, Micron New York) all need robotics maintenance staff that are still being hired.
How to push your robotics technician salary higher: three real levers
Lever 1: Stack a robot-vendor maintenance cert on top of PLC fluency
The cleanest mid-career pay move is to layer a FANUC Certified Robot Technician (or ABB Robot Service, or KUKA Maintenance) credential on top of demonstrated Rockwell ControlLogix or Siemens TIA Portal fluency. Posted-wage data shows the combination pushes welding-cell and assembly-cell roles from the $55K-$65K range into $65K-$82K. The training is concentrated, FANUC's Authorized Training Center courses run $1,200-$2,500 per module and most working techs can complete the maintenance ladder over 12-18 months while employed. Employers will often pay for the training when you frame it as moving toward a controls-specialist or lead robotics tech role.
Lever 2: Target a robotics-dense employer, not a generalist plant
Same FANUC and PLC skill set, the dispersion between employers is enormous. Tesla's Automation Systems Tech postings in Fremont run $32-$48/hr (annualized $66K-$100K base plus stock). Amazon's Mechatronics Tech tier inside RME runs $75K-$122K per aggregated postings. Boston Dynamics Robotics Operations Tech V tops out near $48/hr. By contrast, a BMW Spartanburg or Toyota Mississippi production-tech role with comparable robot-cell responsibility lands at $50K-$58K base. The clean play once you have 3-5 years of cell experience is to move toward a robotics-dense employer in a top-10 metro: Tesla CA / NV / TX, Amazon RME at a major fulfillment center, Intuitive Surgical service in the Bay Area, a tier-1 automotive supplier in the Detroit-Toledo corridor, or Boston Dynamics in Billerica.
Lever 3: Move into a vendor field-service role at year 5+
The highest-base-pay robotics-technician track in the US is vendor field service. FANUC America Field Service Engineer averages $98,851-$116,608 per Salary.com data for the company. ABB, KUKA, Siemens, and Rockwell all run similar tracks at $75K-$98K base. The structure is travel-heavy (60-80% travel typical) with employer-paid per-diem and lodging, the actual cash delta vs a plant-based role is usually $20K-$30K base plus expense coverage. Field service also opens a direct path into applications engineer or sales engineer roles on the vendor side, where total comp clears $130K. The qualifier: most vendor field-service openings want 3-5 years of cell-level experience before they'll consider you, so this is a year-5+ move, not a starting one.
Robotics technician salary vs adjacent roles
Useful for orienting your next career move:
| Role | SOC | BLS median | Education to get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robotics Technician (you) | 17-3024 | $73,900 | AAS or vendor cert stack |
| Mechatronics Technician | 17-3024 | $73,900 | Same SOC, broader title |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanic | 49-9041 | $63,510 | Apprenticeship or AAS |
| PLC / Controls Technician | 17-3024 | ~$78,632 posting avg | AAS + ControlLogix + 3 yrs |
| Vendor Field Service Engineer | 17-3024 | ~$98K-$116K (Salary.com, FANUC) | AAS + 5 yrs cell experience |
| Mechanical Engineering Tech | 17-3027 | $68,730 | AAS in MET |
| Robotics Engineer | 17-2199 | $117,750 | ABET BS + 2 yrs robotics |
All BLS medians from OEWS May 2025. PLC Controls Technician and Vendor Field Service Engineer figures are posting-derived (ZipRecruiter aggregated and Salary.com Fanuc America Corp respectively), not BLS SOC medians.
Three step-ups, ordered by required investment: (1) re-title into a PLC / controls technician role for a $5K-$10K bump without changing employer, (2) move into a vendor field-service track after 5 years for a $20K-$30K base jump, or (3) commit to an ABET-accredited engineering BS for a $40K+ jump into a robotics engineer or controls engineer role. See our robotics engineer career guide for the engineering bridge.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the BLS not have a separate SOC code for robotics technician?
How much does a Tesla robotics technician make?
What does an Amazon robotics technician earn under the RME program?
Do FANUC, ABB, and KUKA certifications actually raise pay?
Which state pays robotics technicians the most?
What is the highest-paying robotics industry?
Field service tech or plant-based robot tech, which pays more?
Sources & methodology
All wage and employment data on this page is sourced from primary US government publications, employer-disclosed job postings, and major aggregator datasets, retrieved 2026-05-28:
- BLS OEWS, 17-3024 Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians, May 2025 national release. Covers robotics technicians under this SOC.
- BLS OEWS state-level estimates (oesm25st.zip), used for all state tables.
- BLS OEWS metropolitan area estimates (oesm25ma.zip), used for metro tables.
- BLS OEWS industry-level estimates (oesm25in4.zip), used for industry tables.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, for 2024-2034 employment projections.
- Salary.com, Robotics Technician, used for tiered posting averages ($67,742 avg as of March 2026).
- ZipRecruiter, Robotics Technician, used for entry-tier posting average ($58,744 avg, May 2026; 25-75 range $46K-$68,500).
- Glassdoor, Robotics Technician, used for upper-tier self-reported data ($85,753 avg; 25-75 range $67,913-$109,534).
- ZipRecruiter, Amazon RME, used for Amazon Reliability and Maintenance Engineering technician comp.
- Glassdoor, Amazon Mechatronics Technician, used for the higher-tier RME Mechatronics Tech pay range.
- Amazon RME Mechatronics & Robotics Apprenticeship (MRA), used for paid-from-day-one apprenticeship detail.
- Salary.com, FANUC America Corp Field Service Engineer, used for vendor field-service comp ($98,851-$116,608 range).
- Glassdoor, FANUC, used for FANUC Field Service Engineer total comp ($82K-$114K range).
- FANUC America, NOCTI Robotics Certifications, used for the FANUC Certified Operator and Technician credential ladder.
- Glassdoor, Boston Dynamics, used for posted Robotics Operations Technician tier ranges.
- National Association of Manufacturers, for 2025 manufacturing-wide wage growth (+4.5%).
Tesla and Boston Dynamics figures are posted hourly ranges from current job listings. Amazon RME and FANUC field service figures combine ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, and Salary.com aggregated data for the named roles at the named employers. All other employer rows cover the broader production-technician or skilled-trades robot-tech title at the named employer, not the BLS robotics SOC specifically. They are presented as posting-derived ranges, not authoritative averages.