How much does a hVAC technician make in Ohio?

The median pay for a hVAC technician in Ohio is $62,510 a year ($30.06 an hour), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025. Most people earn between $38,630 and $98,310.

How do you become a hVAC technician in Ohio?

Train in high school, at a technical school, or through an apprenticeship. Get EPA Section 608 certified. Know how Ohio licensing works. Go for the contractor license if you want to run the business.

Skilled trades and making things · Ohio

HVAC technician: what the job actually is

Installing, servicing and repairing the furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps and refrigeration systems that keep buildings livable and food cold.

By Nick Gonzalez, founder, U.S. Air Force veteranChecked against official Ohio sources October 14, 2026Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025

The work

What this job actually is

Installing new systems: setting units, running ductwork and refrigerant lines, wiring the controls, and starting it all up.
Service calls: a house has no heat in January or no cooling in July, and you find out why.
Diagnosis is a mix of electrical troubleshooting, refrigeration science and airflow. Much of the skill is in the meter and the gauges.
Attics in August and rooftops in February. The work goes where the equipment is, and the equipment is rarely somewhere comfortable.
Handling refrigerant is federally regulated, so you need EPA certification to do most of the job.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

7:00: Check the dispatch app. Six calls, two of them marked urgent.
7:45: First call: furnace will not light. Test the igniter, find it cracked, swap it, run the system through a cycle.
9:30: Maintenance visit on a rooftop unit at a store. Change filters, clean coils, check refrigerant pressures, write it up.
11:30: A customer asks whether to repair or replace. You explain the options honestly, even when the cheaper one is less work for your company.
12:15: Lunch in the truck.
1:00: Install crew for the afternoon: carry a condenser around the back of a house, braze lines, pull a vacuum, wait.
4:30: Last call runs late because the problem was not what the customer described. Peak season weeks can run long.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

How you actually get there in Ohio

Train in high school, at a technical school, or through an apprenticeship
Many HVAC techs train at a technical school or community college in a program lasting six months to two years. Others train through an apprenticeship that pairs paid work with classes and usually runs several years. Ohio Technical Centers offer adult skilled-trades training, and ApprenticeOhio registers apprenticeships.
Get EPA Section 608 certified
The EPA requires technicians who service or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants to be certified. You pass an EPA-approved test from an approved certifying organization: Type I (small appliances), Type II (high pressure), Type III (low pressure), or Universal (all three). The credential does not expire. Apprentices are exempt only while closely supervised by a certified tech.
Know how Ohio licensing works
Ohio's Construction Industry Licensing Board issues contractor (master) licenses for HVAC and refrigeration work on commercial jobs. Local building departments regulate residential contractors and may require the state license, so the rules differ by city and county.
Go for the contractor license if you want to run the business
To sit the OCILB HVAC or refrigeration exam you must be at least 18, have five years in the trade right before applying (or other experience the board accepts), carry contractor's liability insurance, and pass the PSI exam.

While you are still in high school

Ohio school districts must offer career-technical education in grades 7 through 12. Ask your counselor where the nearest HVAC or building trades program is.
EPA refrigerant certification (Type I, II, III and Universal), NCCER HVAC and several NC3 residential HVAC credentials are on Ohio's industry-recognized credentials list, so you may be able to earn them and count them toward graduation.
Ask your nearest community college whether it offers HVAC courses through College Credit Plus.

Where this comes from: U.S. EPA: Section 608 technician certification requirements · Ohio Department of Commerce: Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) · Ohio Revised Code 4740.06: who can sit the state contractor license exam · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: How to become an HVAC mechanic or installer · Ohio Department of Higher Education: Ohio Technical Centers · Ohio Department of Job and Family Services: ApprenticeOhio · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: career-technical education admissions FAQ · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: industry-recognized credentials · Ohio Revised Code 3365.03: College Credit Plus eligibility (grades 9 to 12). Rules change, so check the official page before you rely on a detail.

The money

What it pays in Ohio

Last on purpose. Pay matters, but it is a bad reason to pick a job you would dislike for thirty years.

$62,510: Median pay in Ohio, a year
$30.06: Median pay in Ohio, an hour
14,150: People doing this job in Ohio
$61,090: Median pay in the Akron area, a year

Most people in Ohio earn between $38,630 (the lowest-paid tenth, usually new starters) and $98,310 (the highest-paid tenth) a year.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Ohio and Akron, OH metro area. Median means half earn more and half earn less.

Try it this week

Read your own heating and cooling system

Find the furnace or air handler in your home and the outdoor unit if there is one. Read the labels and look up the model to see what kind of system it is.
Find the air filter, check its size and date, and look up why it matters.
Watch a video of a technician measuring refrigerant pressures and write down three words you did not know. Look them up.
Ask an HVAC company whether a tech would let you ride along for a morning. Some say yes.

Questions to ask somebody who does it

What is a normal week in July versus a normal week in April?
How did you get your EPA certification, and was the test hard?
Install or service: which do you prefer?
What do you do on the calls where you cannot figure it out?
How much of the job is electrical?

Can you own one?

Yes. Commercial HVAC or refrigeration contracting in Ohio needs the OCILB contractor license: five years in the trade (or other experience the board accepts), the exam, and liability insurance in one company's name. Residential rules are set locally and may include the state license. You and your techs also need EPA 608 certification to handle refrigerant.

Thinking about it? How to start a business in Ohio and the free Business 101 course are the place to begin.

Questions

Quick answers

How much does a hVAC technician make in Ohio?: The median pay for a hVAC technician in Ohio is $62,510 a year ($30.06 an hour), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025. Most people earn between $38,630 and $98,310.
How do you become a hVAC technician in Ohio?: Train in high school, at a technical school, or through an apprenticeship. Get EPA Section 608 certified. Know how Ohio licensing works. Go for the contractor license if you want to run the business.
Can you own your own business as a hVAC technician in Ohio?: Yes. Commercial HVAC or refrigeration contracting in Ohio needs the OCILB contractor license: five years in the trade (or other experience the board accepts), the exam, and liability insurance in one company's name. Residential rules are set locally and may include the state license. You and your techs also need EPA 608 certification to handle refrigerant.

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