How much do elevator installers make in Pennsylvania in 2026?

The median elevator installer salary in Pennsylvania is $117,250 a year, or about $56.37 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That puts this trade well above most construction occupations in the state. But the spread between the bottom and top of the range is wide, and where you land on that range depends heavily on your years in the trade, the type of work you do, and where in Pennsylvania you work.

The 25th percentile sits at $77,700 a year, roughly $37.36 an hour. Workers at this level are typically in the earlier stages of their careers — apprentices nearing journey-level status, or journey-level installers who recently moved to a new employer or a new region. $77,700 is still a solid wage by most measures, but it reflects the reality that elevator work has a steep learning curve and that newer hands earn accordingly.

The 75th percentile comes in at $125,750 a year, about $60.46 an hour. The gap between the median and the 75th is only $8,500, which is unusually tight. That compression near the top of the range suggests that experienced journey-level workers in Pennsylvania cluster around similar rates once they've got years of field time behind them. Getting from the 25th to the median represents a much larger jump — nearly $40,000 — which is where the real wage growth happens as you move through an apprenticeship and log hours on more complex equipment.

Elevator installers work on new construction installations, modernization projects on older equipment, and ongoing maintenance contracts. Pay can vary meaningfully by the type of work. Modernization and new construction often come with more overtime, and overtime is a significant income driver in this trade. A journey-level installer earning $56.37 an hour at straight time earns $84.56 per overtime hour. Workers who consistently pick up overtime on busy projects can push their annual take-home well past what the base salary figures show. The BLS data used here captures base wages and salary; it does not include overtime earnings, so high earners in a busy year likely see totals above the 75th percentile figure.

Geography within Pennsylvania also matters. The Philadelphia metro area and its suburbs generate significant elevator work tied to commercial construction, hospitals, and high-rise residential projects. Pittsburgh sees demand driven by healthcare campuses and downtown commercial activity. Smaller markets in central and northern Pennsylvania tend to have fewer new installation projects, though maintenance and modernization work exists wherever there are buildings with existing equipment. Installers willing to travel or who position themselves near major metro job concentrations generally have more consistent work and more overtime access.

The path into the trade in Pennsylvania typically runs through a multi-year apprenticeship that combines on-the-job hours with technical classroom instruction covering electrical systems, hydraulics, mechanical drives, and safety codes. Pennsylvania also requires elevator mechanics to be licensed through the state's licensing system, so completing your apprenticeship and sitting for the required credentials is not optional — it's the gating requirement for legally performing the work independently. Getting licensed and maintaining that credential is the single most direct lever for moving from apprentice-level pay toward the median and beyond.

Some elevator installers in Pennsylvania work under collective bargaining agreements. If you're covered by one, the wage rates and benefit contributions in your specific agreement govern your pay — check that agreement directly, since TradesPays does not have local contract data to quote here. Non-union workers' pay is set by employer and market conditions, and the BLS figures above reflect the full mix of both.

The data on this page comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. It covers all elevator installers and repairers in Pennsylvania and represents a broad sample across employer types and regions. Use these numbers as a baseline, then compare against what local employers and apprenticeship programs in your area are actually offering.