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GA — AUGUSTA-RICHMOND COUNTY, GA-SC

HVAC Technician apprenticeships in Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC is the 69th-most populous metro in the US. Here is what working as an hvac technician looks like locally.

Updated May 25, 2026

KEY FACTS — AUGUSTA-RICHMOND COUNTY, GA-SC

Augusta-Richmond County: ~63 of 740 (~8.5%) · market pressure 63/100 — High pressure.

HVAC Technician earning $100K+ annually in Augusta-Richmond County
~63 of 740 (~8.5%) ±19

Confidence: low. 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).

OEWS six-figure baseline (hvac technician)
~3 of 740 (~0.4%)

Confidence: high. Log-normal fit residual is within tolerance.

Source: BLS OEWS.

Market pressure score (hvac technician, Augusta-Richmond County)
63/100 — High pressure

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.

Bachelor’s+ in the Augusta-Richmond County labor force
116K

Source: Census ACS 2022 5-year.

Competitive ratio ($100K+ earners / bachelor’s+)
5.4 per 10k

A framing, not a forecast. See methodology.

Numerator: ACS PUMS $100K+ annual earners.

Auto-compiled from Georgia editorial + Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC labor data. Spot an error?

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC is one of Georgia's largest labor markets for hvac technicians. It is the 69th-largest metro area in the United States by population. This page collects what adults switching into a career as an hvac technician inside the Augusta-Richmond County 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.

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC hvac technicians earn a median of $49,510 (BLS OEWS Augusta-Richmond County MSA, May 2024). For Georgia context, statewide pay runs from $16/hr at entry to $27/hr at the state median and $40/hr at the experienced end. Statewide headline: $56K avg salary. The Augusta-Richmond County metro is smaller than the state's largest; local wages may run above or below the state median depending on sector mix.

In the Augusta-Richmond County metro, estimated six-figure hvac technician jobs: ~3 of 740 (~0.4%). Confidence: high. Log-normal fit residual is within tolerance. ACS 2024 5-year PUMS estimates ~63 $100K+ annual earners (~8.5% of employed hvac technicians, ACS PUMS WAGP+SEMP). Projections Central long-term pressure score: 63/100 (High, low confidence). Bachelor's-plus in the metro labor force: 116K (ACS 2022 5-year). For statewide context: Georgia shows ~154 of 12K (~1.3%). Sources: BLS OEWS, Census ACS PUMS, Projections Central, Census ACS.

Statewide hvac technician programs and employer-sponsored paths are listed on the Georgia 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: Georgia rules apply in the Augusta-Richmond County 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. Expect a 60-90 minute drive radius for hvac technician program sites that pull from the Augusta-Richmond County metro; rural applicants commonly enroll through the nearest larger MSA when local employer-sponsored slots are scarce.

UNION APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS

Union apprenticeship programs in Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

Verified hvac technician union locals with public-facing city, jurisdiction, training, and official-site details.

SMART Local 5 HQ: Knoxville, TN

Sheet Metal Workers Local 5

Jurisdiction:Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe + 95 more counties (NC/TN/GA/VA)

Training:Sheet Metal Workers Local 5 North Carolina Apprenticeship / JATC

Official site →
SMART Local 85 HQ: Atlanta, GA

Sheet Metal Workers Local 85

Jurisdiction:Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin + 146 more counties (GA/AL)

Training:Georgia Sheet Metal Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center (Atlanta, GA)

Official site →
SMART Local 399 HQ: North Charleston, SC

Sheet Metal Workers Local 399

Jurisdiction:Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg + 41 more counties (SC)

Training:SMART Local 399 JATC (North Charleston, SC)

Official site →
UA Local 72 HQ: Atlanta, GA

UA Local Union 72 Plumbers, Pipefitters & HVACR Technicians

Jurisdiction:Atlanta and outlying areas of Georgia; Local 72 states it provides pipefitters throughout the state of Georgia.

Training:Mechanical Trades Institute - Local 72 Training Center (Atlanta, GA)

Official site →
UA Local 150 HQ: Augusta, GA

UA Local 150 Plumbers and Steamfitters

Jurisdiction:Richmond, Burke, Jenkins, Jefferson, Lincoln + 4 more counties (GA)

Training:UA Local 150 Joint Apprenticeship Training Center (Augusta, GA)

Official site →
UA Local 421 HQ: North Charleston, SC

UA Local 421 Plumbers, Pipefitters, Welders and HVAC-R Service Techs

Jurisdiction:Abbeville, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Beaufort + 39 more counties (NC/SC)

Training:Mechanical Trades Carolina (North Charleston, SC)

Official site →

Verified-source check recorded in the union dataset; this data snapshot does not carry per-local verification dates.

Street addresses, phone numbers, and emails stay out of the page source. Open the free directory for addresses & phone numbers .

HVAC TECHNICIAN PAY SNAPSHOT — AUGUSTA-RICHMOND COUNTY, GA-SC

$49,510 (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 Georgia

We list hvac technician apprenticeships, schools, and locals statewide.

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