How much do elevator installers make in Maryland in 2026?

Elevator installers and repairers in Maryland are among the highest-paid construction trade workers in the state. The median annual wage sits at $122,260, which works out to roughly $58.78 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's a strong number by any measure, and it reflects both the technical complexity of the work and the serious safety responsibilities that come with it.

The full spread of pay looks like this. At the 25th percentile — workers earlier in their careers or in lower-wage pockets of the state — annual earnings come in at $96,120, or about $46.21 an hour. The 75th percentile sits at $123,710, roughly $59.48 an hour. Notice how tight the band is between the median and the 75th percentile: only about $1,450 separates them annually. That compression at the top suggests that once you hit journeyman-level earnings in Maryland, additional hourly rate gains are relatively modest — though overtime, shift differentials, and prevailing-wage jobs can push total annual take-home well above those base figures.

The jump from 25th to median is where the real action is. Going from $96,120 to $122,260 is a difference of $26,140 a year — more than $12.50 an hour. That gap typically reflects the difference between someone still accumulating hours in an apprenticeship or working a lower-volume market versus a fully credentialed journeyman on a high-rise or major commercial project.

Maryland's geography matters here. The Baltimore metro area and the Washington D.C. suburbs — Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and the I-270 corridor — carry the heaviest elevator workload in the state. High-rise office buildings, hospitals, transit facilities, and dense residential developments all drive steady demand for installation and maintenance work. Workers based in those corridors generally have access to more hours and more complex projects than someone working in rural parts of the Eastern Shore or Western Maryland.

The type of work also affects where you land in the pay range. New construction installation on commercial and residential high-rises tends to pay more than straight maintenance and service routes, though maintenance work offers more predictable scheduling. Modernization projects — retrofitting older hydraulic or traction systems with new controls and drives — fall somewhere in between and are increasingly common as Maryland's aging building stock gets upgraded.

Elevator work requires passing the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) apprenticeship, which runs four years and combines on-the-job hours with classroom instruction. Most apprentices start closer to the 25th percentile and move toward the median as they accumulate hours and complete their training. The Qualified Elevator Inspector (QEI) credential and state licensure requirements also mean that workers who've put in the time to get fully credentialed face less competition from the low end of the labor market than workers in some other trades.

Benefits are an important part of total compensation in this trade. Health insurance, pension contributions, and annuity funds — common in unionized elevator work — can add significant value on top of hourly wages, though no union scale data is available for Maryland at this time. When comparing job offers, factor in those benefits carefully; a job paying $58 an hour with strong pension contributions can be worth considerably more than one paying $60 with minimal benefits.

Hours also vary. Elevator installers on large construction sites may work overtime regularly during peak build-out phases, while maintenance technicians typically work more consistent 40-hour weeks with on-call obligations. Annual earnings in the $120,000-plus range are achievable, but they often require some combination of overtime, shift pay, and premium project work rather than straight-time hours alone.

All wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release.