Automotive Technician apprenticeships in State College, PA
State College, PA is a smaller U.S. metro. Here is what working as an automotive technician looks like locally.
KEY FACTS — STATE COLLEGE, PA
State College: ~20 of 310 (~6.4%) · market pressure 23/100 — Low pressure.
Confidence: medium. Annual labor earnings (W-2 wages + self-employment), not OEWS hourly-wage extrapolations.
Source: Census ACS 2024 5-year PUMS (state-rate projection onto metro OEWS employment).
Confidence: high. Log-normal fit residual is within tolerance.
Source: BLS OEWS.
Confidence: low. Composite of projected annual openings, projected growth, and current $100K+ earnings rate. Not a direct vacancy count.
Source: Projections Central data; score computed by Prentice.
Source: Census ACS 2022 5-year.
A framing, not a forecast. See methodology.
Numerator: ACS PUMS $100K+ annual earners.
State College, PA is one of Pennsylvania's labor markets for automotive technicians. This page collects what adults switching into a career as an automotive technician inside the State College metro need first: how local pay compares to the state, what the available labor-market data says about six-figure work, and which statewide programs and licensing rules apply locally.
State College, PA automotive technicians earn a median of $47,590 (BLS OEWS State College MSA, May 2024). For Pennsylvania context, statewide pay runs from $16/hr at entry to $26/hr at the state median and $37/hr at the experienced end. Statewide headline: $54K avg salary. The State College metro is a smaller U.S. MSA; local wages may run above or below the state median depending on sector mix.
In the State College metro, estimated six-figure automotive technician jobs: ~4 of 310 (~1.3%). Confidence: high. Log-normal fit residual is within tolerance. ACS 2024 5-year PUMS estimates ~20 $100K+ annual earners (~6.4% of employed automotive technicians, ACS PUMS WAGP+SEMP). Projections Central long-term pressure score: 23/100 (Low, low confidence). Bachelor's-plus in the metro labor force: 45K (ACS 2022 5-year). For statewide context: Pennsylvania shows ~424 of 29K (~1.5%). Sources: BLS OEWS, Census ACS PUMS, Projections Central, Census ACS.
Statewide automotive technician programs and employer-sponsored paths are listed on the Pennsylvania programs page; none are flagged as metro-exclusive. Metro program and association references are inherited from sourced state pages unless a metro-exclusive entity is explicitly sourced. Treat them as orientation, not a complete local inventory, and verify current intake details with the statewide source or sponsor before relying. Licensing is set at the state level: Pennsylvania rules apply in the State College metro unless a local authority says otherwise. Metro pages use state-level licensing and program context unless a city, county, or sponsor rule is explicitly sourced. Verify current licensing, local add-ons, and sponsor requirements with the official state or local authority before relying. Smaller MSAs like the State College metro often source automotive technician apprentices from a 60-mile radius into the nearest larger urban center; check with the state programs page for the closest active intake.
AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN PAY SNAPSHOT — STATE COLLEGE, PA
$47,590 (OEWS MSA-level median)
Source: BLS OEWS MSA cross-industry estimates. Where MSA-level data is suppressed or unpublished we fall back to the state median and label it explicitly.
Programs across Pennsylvania
We list automotive technician apprenticeships, schools, and locals statewide.
AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN IN NEARBY METROS
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