After hearing this YouTube video by Prof. Richard D. Wolff, I was inspired to write this post. Just spend a half hour on Indeed perusing the ads for advertised pay scale in “HVAC Technicians.” There you will see wage offers between $20 and $55 per hour.
In 1981, I started working for a fuel company in Concord, NH for a whopping $3.75 per hour, which was ten cents more than I was making at my previous job. Today that would be $11.85 per hour. When I left that position a few years later, I was making $7.50 per hour, or $23.08 per hour today.
While the HVAC trade is one of the highest paying ones in the building trades, a service technician with 3.5 years experience really couldn’t survive for long making $23.08 per hour today. In fact, I would venture to say that a single guy/HVAC technician today has zero chance of partaking in the so-called American Dream including, owning a home and staying out of debt. Oh, I almost forgot: going into debt is part of the American Dream (nightmare)!
Unless as an HVAC technician you go into business for yourself, and know what you are doing not only technically, but financially (not easy), you will never attain anything greater than subsistence-level income that won’t allow you to buy a home and pay it off anytime soon, have dependable transportation, typical benefits and a nest egg for retirement. Forget about it, not going to happen, that is, unless you work every week between 60 and 80 hours per week. You will need good help to do it, and that is not easy to find.
Of course, if you are lucky and marry a wonderful partner who also makes around the same amount of money, then you might achieve those things. Be careful with how many kids you have, or you will find yourself on a financial treadmill that you will never ever get off. There is very little wiggle room for financial mistakes in the economy of today.
I asked this question of ChatGPT: “What hourly wage would an HVAC technician need to make in New Hampshire to mortgage a home, a new car loan, a wife and one child in 2025?” This is what it returned:
“To estimate what an hourly wage an HVAC technician in New Hampshire would need in 2025 to comfortably cover a mortgage, a new car loan, and expenses for a spouse and one child, here’s a breakdown based on the latest data—and how it translates into income requirements.
1. Housing (Mortgage & Taxes)
- Median home sale price: ~$565,000 (June 2025) (Bankrate, New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute)
- Using a 30-year mortgage at ~6.82% interest, with a 5% down payment, the estimated monthly mortgage (including property taxes) is ~$4,308 (New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute).
2. Car Loan (New Car)
- The average monthly payment for a new vehicle in early 2025 is around $745–$754 (NerdWallet).
- We’ll use $750/month as a rounded figure.
3. Cost of Raising a Child in New Hampshire
- According to Parents.com (Feb 2025), the annual cost to raise a child in NH is $27,849, which includes housing, childcare, food, transportation, etc. (Parents).
- On a monthly basis, this equates to ~$2,320/month ($27,849 ÷ 12).
Summary of Monthly Costs
| Expense Category | Monthly Cost Estimate |
|---|---|
| Mortgage (incl. taxes) | $4,308 |
| Car Loan (new car) | $750 |
| Child (annualized) | $2,320 |
| Estimated Total | $7,378/month |
Note: This estimate only includes the cost for one child—not spouse-specific personal spending, health insurance, utilities, groceries beyond child-specific costs, or other discretionary/necessity expenses (e.g., spouse’s personal needs, adult health care, food, utilities, savings, etc.). A prudent calculation might realistically target $8,000–$9,000/month for overall stability.
4. Required Hourly Wage
To determine the necessary hourly wage:
- Annualize the base monthly cost:
- $7,378/month × 12 = ~$88,536/year.
- Adjust for taxes and benefits:
- Assuming an effective tax + benefit rate of
25%, the HVAC technician would need to earn gross approximately **$118,048/year** to net ~$88,500.
- Assuming an effective tax + benefit rate of
- Convert to hourly wage (assuming full-time, 2,080 hours/year):
- $118,048 ÷ 2,080 = ~$56.70/hour.
Summary
- Estimated needed gross salary: ~$118,000/year
- Required hourly wage: approximately $57/hour (full-time)
Additional Notes
- This figure assumes full-time (40 hrs/week) employment without significant overtime or side income.
- Actual needs could vary based on:
- Whether you purchase a used car (used car payments average lower—~$521/month (Bankrate, Experian, SmartAsset, NerdWallet)).
- Mortgage size, interest rate fluctuations, local tax rates, or down-payment.
- Cost of living variations in your specific NH county or town.
- Additional family needs like health insurance, savings goals, utilities, food, and emergency funds.
Would you like suggestions on adjusting any of these variables—for example, exploring used car financing, down payment strategies to reduce mortgage, or local NH programs that could ease the cost burden? Let me know!”
So there you have it. It is not possible for a sole bread-winner to support a family of 2 adults and one child, never mind investing for retirement. Perhaps, if your spouse made the same amount you do in her job (child at daycare), if you subject yourself to economic slavery, then, yes you might be able to retire at 65. Let’s see what ChatGPT says…
“How much would that technician have to make additionally to retire comfortably?”
“Great follow-up. Covering day-to-day expenses ($57/hr or ~$118K gross in NH for 2025) is one thing—but to retire comfortably, the HVAC technician would need to earn more than that baseline so they can set aside money for retirement savings. Let’s break it down:
🔑 Step 1: Define “Comfortable Retirement”
Financial planners often use two rules of thumb:
- Replacement Ratio Rule – You’ll need about 70–80% of your working income in retirement to maintain your lifestyle.
- 4% Rule – To retire comfortably, you need to save about 25× your desired annual retirement income (because withdrawing 4% a year should last ~30 years).
🔑 Step 2: Retirement Target for the NH Technician
- Current required gross salary: ~$118,000/year
- Comfortable retirement replacement (75% of income): ~$88,500/year in retirement spending.
Using the 4% Rule:
- $88,500 ÷ 0.04 = ~$2.2 million nest egg needed at retirement.
🔑 Step 3: How Much Must Be Saved Each Year
Assume:
- Start age: 30
- Retire age: 65 (35 years of saving)
- Investment return: 6% annually (conservative)
To reach ~$2.2M:
- Need to save about $18K–$20K per year (~15% of income).
That’s ~$1,500–$1,700 per month invested into retirement accounts (401k, IRA, brokerage, etc.).
🔑 Step 4: Extra Hourly Wage Needed
- $20,000/year ÷ 2,080 work hours ≈ $9.60/hr.
So on top of the $57/hr baseline, the technician would need to make about $67/hr total (≈$139K gross annual income) to cover current family obligations and retirement savings.
✅ Final Answer
An HVAC technician in New Hampshire (2025) would need to earn:
$57/hr ($118K/year) just to cover mortgage, car, spouse, and one child.$67/hr ($139K/year) to also save enough for a comfortable retirement nest egg (~$2.2M) by age 65.
👉 Do you want me to run scenarios for retiring earlier (say at 60 or 55), or should I focus on the standard age-65 path?”
But let’s be realistic, the technician’s spouse will need to work, so let’s check back with ChatGPT…
“Recalculate all expenses including retirement funds with the technician’s spouse working a 40-hour week with her own new car and also saving for both retirements, and the child going to college – what will 100% of this scenario look like financially for the couple in their mid twenties?”
“Perfect — this is the “full-life” budget picture for a young HVAC technician family in New Hampshire, mid-20s, with mortgage, two new cars, one child, retirement savings for both parents, and future college costs. Let’s build this systematically:
🏠 Household Financial Model (2025 Dollars, NH)
1. Housing
- Median NH home price (2025): ~$565,000
- 5% down, 30-yr fixed @ 6.8% → ~$4,308/mo mortgage + property tax & insurance【web†source】.
👉 $4,300/mo
2. Cars (Two New)
- Average new car payment (2025): ~$750/mo each【web†source】
👉 $1,500/mo total
3. Child (One Dependent, Pre-College Years)
- Average annual cost of raising a child in NH: $27,849/yr = ~$2,320/mo【web†source】
👉 $2,300/mo
4. Retirement Savings (Both Parents)
- To replace
75% of joint income ($175K target later in career), they’ll need $3.3M nest egg by age 65. - At mid-20s, saving 15% each of their incomes (~$30K/year) is advised.
👉 $2,500/mo
5. College Savings (One Child)
- Projected 4-yr public university cost in ~20 years: ~$250,000 (inflation-adjusted).
- To save this, they need ~$650/mo in a 529 plan (assuming 6% growth).
👉 $650/mo
6. Living Costs (Food, Utilities, Insurance, Gas, Health, Misc.)
- Family of 3 in NH, 2025 averages: $3,000–$3,500/mo.
👉 $3,200/mo
📊 Monthly Totals
| Category | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Mortgage (housing) | $4,300 |
| Cars (2) | $1,500 |
| Child (raising) | $2,300 |
| Retirement (both) | $2,500 |
| College savings | $650 |
| Living costs | $3,200 |
| TOTAL | $14,450 |
💵 Annual Requirement
- $14,450 × 12 = $173,400/year net spending power
- With
25% effective taxes/benefits → need **$231,000/year gross household income**
👩👩👦 Income Split
If both spouses work 40 hrs/week:
- 2,080 hrs each × 2 = 4,160 hrs total.
- $231,000 ÷ 4,160 = ~$56/hr combined average wage.
✅ Final Summary
For a married HVAC tech in NH, mid-20s, with one child, mortgage, two new cars, retirement savings for both, and a college fund:
- Household gross income needed: ~$231,000/year
- Equivalent joint hourly wage: ~$56/hr (across both spouses)
- If only the technician works → they’d need ~$111/hr (which is not realistic for average HVAC wages).
- If both work full-time → a balanced scenario is possible with each earning ~$28/hr (tech more, spouse less, but average holds).
👉 This assumes middle-class comfort (no luxury extras, but solid retirement + college security).
Would you like me to also model a “lean” version (used cars, smaller home, state school savings only) so you can compare realistic lifestyle tiers side-by-side?”
We could plot this out in a more refined way, but this information is sufficient to see where I am going with this blog post.
Even if both spouses became HVAC technicians, they will start out making about $25 per hour. Once they have 20 years experience, then they could each make $57 per hour, but that would change the whole financial calculation, now wouldn’t it.
The bottom line is: it is not possible to work 40 years as an HVAC technician, live comfortably and retire comfortably. You know it, the technician knows it and the technician’s employer knows it!
So, when is somebody going to tell Uncle Sam?
