Data report · Nov 3, 2026

Appliance repair labor costs by metro

OEWS 49-9031 wage-backed microwave-repair mids from about $146 (Jackson) to $239 (Barnstable Town).

Last updated from data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · PPI construction materials 2026-09

Chart: Fairange mid estimates · BLS OEWS May 2025 · Share freely with attribution

Home appliance techs don’t show up in every “average repair cost” blog post — but BLS publishes them. We ranked metros that have a local OEWS wage for Home Appliance Repairers (SOC 49-9031), then translated that wage through our published microwave repair baseline (diagnostic-inclusive hours + cited parts band).

Among mainland metros, the mid planning estimate runs from about $146 in Jackson ($16.76/hr mean wage) to $239 in Barnstable Town ($40.66/hr). Spread on the mid: ~$93. Parts and trip fees still dominate many real invoices; this ranking is mostly the labor market talking.

Trade notes: disposal swaps on this site use plumber wages. Gas piping and new circuits are separate trades — see the appliance hub.

Priciest metros (microwave-repair mid)

#	Metro	St	Mid	Band	Appliance wage
1	Barnstable Town	MA	$239	$91–$524	$40.66/hr
2	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford	CT	$227	$87–$516	$37.44/hr
3	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury	CT	$219	$88–$532	$35.31/hr
4	Racine-Mount Pleasant	WI	$218	$89–$462	$35.13/hr
5	Trenton-Princeton	NJ	$218	$77–$484	$35.19/hr
6	Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk	VA	$218	$88–$470	$35.10/hr
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton	MA	$217	$90–$490	$34.88/hr
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria	DC	$215	$80–$489	$34.38/hr
9	Waterbury-Shelton	CT	$214	$87–$473	$34.03/hr
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington	MN	$208	$92–$473	$32.57/hr
11	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara	CA	$207	$85–$480	$32.41/hr
12	New York-Newark-Jersey City	NY	$206	$83–$476	$32.10/hr

Least expensive metros

#	Metro	St	Mid	Band	Appliance wage
1	Jackson	MS	$146	$64–$311	$16.76/hr
2	Evansville	IN	$155	$67–$339	$19.02/hr
3	Terre Haute	IN	$157	$66–$339	$19.51/hr
4	Wichita	KS	$159	$60–$358	$20.12/hr
5	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers	AR	$163	$64–$360	$21.18/hr
6	El Paso	TX	$163	$66–$363	$20.95/hr
7	Casper	WY	$163	$75–$334	$21.18/hr
8	Fort Wayne	IN	$164	$65–$356	$21.36/hr
9	Canton-Massillon	OH	$164	$68–$327	$21.30/hr
10	Albuquerque	NM	$164	$69–$387	$21.20/hr
11	Salem	OR	$165	$69–$362	$21.60/hr
12	Elkhart-Goshen	IN	$165	$63–$364	$21.54/hr

Open the dishwasher repair or fridge repair calculator with your ZIP — same wage file, different hours/parts baselines.

Estimates, not bids. Fairange planning estimates from public BLS wages plus published hours/materials assumptions. Not contractor bids. Hours, materials baselines, and contractor markup (2.0× / 2.25× / 2.5×) are ours — published on the methodology page. Wages are BLS OEWS May 2025. Always get local written bids.

Also: ZIP calculator · city guides · how we estimate · press kit

By The Fairange team · [email protected]