Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics
SOC 49-3053 · 2024-2034
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul small engines used to power lawn mowers, chain saws, recreational sporting equipment, and related equipment.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $52,226per year
- Projected openings
- 2,610
- Projected change
- +3.7%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Repairing
- Troubleshooting
- Operations Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Equipment Selection
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $61,233 | 150 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $55,477 | 120 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $53,431 | 370 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $52,868 | 70 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $52,847 | 60 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $52,568 | 520 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $52,324 | 230 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $51,112 | 70 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $50,670 | 460 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $49,304 | 30 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $49,099 | 280 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $48,462 | 50 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $47,908 | 60 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $46,306 | 40 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $40,555 | 100 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $37,995
- A quarter earn under
- $44,812
- Half earn under
- $52,226
- Three quarters earn under
- $63,085
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $78,180
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorcycle Mechanics | $58,653 | 1,890 | +5.3% |
| Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists | $76,041 | 20,390 | +5.1% |
| Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians | $64,092 | 1,350 | +7.7% |
| Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians | $55,311 | 4,900 | +5.4% |
| Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines | $80,771 | 18,430 | +6.8% |
| Engine and Other Machine Assemblers | $47,878 | 960 | -16.7% |