What Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers earn in Fairfax County, VA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $71,920: the median annual pay for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in Fairfax County, VA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $34.58 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $73,740, which is 2.5% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 8,730 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Fairfax County, VA has roughly 1,147,837 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $46,920 a year ($22.56 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $105,180 or more ($50.57 an hour). That is a gap of $58,260 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $57,670 at the 25th percentile and $89,240 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.2 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $34.58 an hour or $71,920 a year at the median for Fairfax County, VA. Before any deductions, that is $5,993 a month, $2,766 every two weeks and $1,383 each week. After taxes the same job pays $26.83 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers this way: "Install or repair heating, central air conditioning, HVAC, or refrigeration systems, including oil burners, hot-air furnaces, and heating stoves."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Test electrical circuits or components for continuity, using electrical test equipment"; "Repair or replace defective equipment, components, or wiring"; "Discuss heating or cooling system malfunctions with users to isolate problems or to verify that repairs corrected malfunctions"; "Connect heating or air conditioning equipment to fuel, water, or refrigerant source to form complete circuit".
Job outlook for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 440,900 jobs in 2025 to 489,100 in 2035, a change of +10.9%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 40,600 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 9.2% of current employment each year. About 6.3% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: postsecondary nondegree award. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: long-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $61,010 for this occupation; the Fairfax County, VA median of $71,920 is 17.9% above it.
How pay in Fairfax County, VA compares
Compared with the Virginia average
A worker in this occupation in Fairfax County, VA earns $7,565 more than the Virginia average of $64,355, a premium of 11.8%. Over a year that premium is worth $7,565 before tax and roughly $5,870 after tax. Within Virginia, Fairfax County, VA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers is $62,470 across the contiguous United States. At $71,920, Fairfax County, VA pays $9,450 more, which is 15.1% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Fairfax County, VA
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Fairfax County, VA, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers ranks number 305 by median pay, ahead of about 51% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $195,190 a year, which is $123,270 more than the median for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers earning the Fairfax County, VA median of $71,920, they add up to $16,109. The result is $55,811 of take-home pay a year ($4,651 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $22 goes to taxes and $78 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 22.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $56,170. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $7,271, an effective 10.1% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $4,459 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,043. FICA totals $5,502, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Virginia
Virginia income tax on this salary is $3,336 a year, or 4.6% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 46% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $278 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Fairfax County, VA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Fairfax County, VA show an average adjusted gross income of $154,326 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.2% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.9%, compared with the 10.1% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Fairfax County, VA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Fairfax County, VA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $55,811 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Fairfax County, VA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,204 a month ($26,448 a year), and at $2,438 for two bedrooms. For Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers, a one-bedroom absorbs 47.4% of take-home pay and 36.8% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.8% of gross pay for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in Fairfax County, VA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,523 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $597, for $2,119 in total. Gasoline in Virginia averages $3.09 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,429.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $33,432 a year in Fairfax County, VA. Subtract that from $55,811 of take-home pay and $22,379 remains, which is $1,865 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 31.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Fairfax County, VA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Fairfax County, VA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Fairfax County, VA, set beside the Virginia and national medians.
Property taxes in Fairfax County, VA
Homeowners in Fairfax County, VA pay a median of $7,368 a year in real estate taxes, 164% above the Virginia median of $2,790 and 136% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $732,800, the median tax bill is 1.01% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers median of $71,920, a tax bill of that size would equal 10.2% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Fairfax County, VA
Renters in Fairfax County, VA pay a median gross rent of $2,276 a month in the Census survey, 44% above the Virginia median of $1,579. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,204 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $732,800, 91% above the Virginia median of $383,700. Median household income is $153,637, 65% above the Virginia median of $93,170, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 17.2% of that income.
Commuting in Fairfax County, VA
Workers in Fairfax County, VA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.9 minutes each way, 6% above the Virginia average of 27.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 28.7% of workers in Fairfax County, VA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers afford to live in Fairfax County, VA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $71,920 that ceiling is $1,798 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,204 is $406 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $42.38 an hour; the median for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers is $34.58, which is 18% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $26.83 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 19.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,438 a month means $1,219 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,820 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $34,199.
How fast you can save
At $1,865 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 6 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 12 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers pay in Fairfax County, VA
How much do Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers make per hour in Fairfax County, VA?
The median is $34.58 per hour, based on $71,920 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $22.56 at the 10th percentile to $50.57 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers take home after taxes in Fairfax County, VA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $71,920 becomes $55,811 a year. That is $4,651 a month, $2,147 every two weeks or $1,073 a week.
How much tax do Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers pay in Fairfax County, VA?
Total taxes are $16,109 a year, an effective rate of 22.4%: $7,271 federal income tax, $5,502 FICA and $3,336 Virginia income tax.
Do Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers earn more in Fairfax County, VA than elsewhere in Virginia?
Yes. The local median of $71,920 is +11.8% versus the Virginia average of $64,355, a difference of $7,565 a year.
Can Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Fairfax County, VA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,204 a month against take-home pay of $4,651, which is 47.4% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,798 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in Fairfax County, VA?
About $1,865 a month ($22,379 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,432 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Fairfax County, VA at the 30% guideline?
$42.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,448 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers is $34.58.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Virginia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.