What Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians earn in Dallas County, TX
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $94,920: the median annual pay for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in Dallas County, TX. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $45.63 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $90,470, which is 4.7% below the median, which suggests many workers sit near the top of the pay scale. The survey counts about 8,000 people working in this occupation across the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Dallas County, TX has roughly 2,621,179 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $52,130 a year ($25.06 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $123,180 or more ($59.22 an hour). That is a gap of $71,050 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $75,680 at the 25th percentile and $103,370 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.4 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $45.63 an hour or $94,920 a year at the median for Dallas County, TX. Before any deductions, that is $7,910 a month, $3,651 every two weeks and $1,825 each week. After taxes the same job pays $36.22 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians this way: "Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components"; "Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation"; "Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance"; "Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations".
Job outlook for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 140,000 jobs in 2025 to 147,600 in 2035, a change of +5.4%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 11,400 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 8.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: postsecondary nondegree award. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $79,870 for this occupation; the Dallas County, TX median of $94,920 is 18.8% above it.
How pay in Dallas County, TX compares
Compared with the Texas average
A worker in this occupation in Dallas County, TX earns $7,530 more than the Texas average of $87,390, a premium of 8.6%. Over a year that premium is worth $7,530 before tax and roughly $5,976 after tax. Within Texas, Dallas County, TX already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians is $83,543 across the contiguous United States. At $94,920, Dallas County, TX pays $11,377 more, which is 13.6% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Dallas County, TX
Among the 627 occupations with published wages in Dallas County, TX, Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians ranks number 124 by median pay, ahead of about 80% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $173,810 a year, which is $78,890 more than the median for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians earning the Dallas County, TX median of $94,920, they add up to $19,593. The result is $75,327 of take-home pay a year ($6,277 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $21 goes to taxes and $79 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 20.6%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $79,170. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $12,331, an effective 13.0% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $5,885 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,376. FICA totals $7,261, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Texas
Texas does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in Dallas County, TX is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $4,746 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $396 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Dallas County, TX
IRS Statistics of Income data for Dallas County, TX show an average adjusted gross income of $107,338 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 17.7% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 9.5%, compared with the 13.0% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Dallas County, TX
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Dallas County, TX: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $75,327 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Dallas County, TX, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,536 a month ($18,432 a year), and at $1,807 for two bedrooms. For Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians, a one-bedroom absorbs 24.5% of take-home pay and 19.4% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 3.6% of gross pay for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in Dallas County, TX. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Texas residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,578 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $719, for $2,297 in total. Gasoline in Texas averages $2.88 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,334.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $25,499 a year in Dallas County, TX. Subtract that from $75,327 of take-home pay and $49,828 remains, which is $4,152 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 52.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Dallas County, TX
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Dallas County, TX: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Dallas County, TX, set beside the Texas and national medians.
Property taxes in Dallas County, TX
Homeowners in Dallas County, TX pay a median of $4,798 a year in real estate taxes, 13% above the Texas median of $4,232 and 54% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $303,000, the median tax bill is 1.58% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians median of $94,920, a tax bill of that size would equal 5.1% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Dallas County, TX
Renters in Dallas County, TX pay a median gross rent of $1,565 a month in the Census survey, 12% above the Texas median of $1,403. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,536 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $303,000, 7% above the Texas median of $283,800. Median household income is $76,547, 2% below the Texas median of $78,476, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 24.1% of that income.
Commuting in Dallas County, TX
Workers in Dallas County, TX who travel to a workplace spend an average of 26.8 minutes each way, in line with the Texas average of 26.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.5 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 15.7% of workers in Dallas County, TX work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians afford to live in Dallas County, TX?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $94,920 that ceiling is $2,373 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,536 is $837 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $29.54 an hour; the median for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians is $45.63, which is 54% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $36.22 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 9.8 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,807 a month means $904 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,590 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $57,418.
How fast you can save
At $4,152 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians pay in Dallas County, TX
How much do Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians make per hour in Dallas County, TX?
The median is $45.63 per hour, based on $94,920 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $25.06 at the 10th percentile to $59.22 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians take home after taxes in Dallas County, TX?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $94,920 becomes $75,327 a year. That is $6,277 a month, $2,897 every two weeks or $1,449 a week.
How much tax do Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians pay in Dallas County, TX?
Total taxes are $19,593 a year, an effective rate of 20.6%: $12,331 federal income tax, $7,261 FICA and no Texas income tax.
Do Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians earn more in Dallas County, TX than elsewhere in Texas?
Yes. The local median of $94,920 is +8.6% versus the Texas average of $87,390, a difference of $7,530 a year.
Can Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians afford a one-bedroom apartment in Dallas County, TX?
A one-bedroom costs $1,536 a month against take-home pay of $6,277, which is 24.5% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,373 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in Dallas County, TX?
About $4,152 a month ($49,828 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $25,499 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Dallas County, TX at the 30% guideline?
$29.54 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $18,432 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians is $45.63.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Texas rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.