HVAC Apprenticeship by State: Registered Apprentices, Completions and Program Length (2026)

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12,795 HVAC apprentices were active in FY2025, double the FY2016 count

Registered HVAC apprenticeship has grown faster than registered apprenticeship as a whole, but it is still a small slice of it: 1.8% of all active apprentices in FY2025.

Registered HVAC apprentice (this report): A person in a registered apprenticeship program whose occupation the U.S. Department of Labor maps to SOC 49-9021, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers. Active means the person was in the program at any point in the federal fiscal year (October to September). Sheet metal, pipefitter and plumber programs that do HVAC work are counted under their own occupations.

The DOL dashboard counts 12,795 active HVAC apprentices in FY2025, up from 6,236 in FY2016. New registrations went from 2,392 to 4,503 over the same years. Completions rose from 667 to 1,828.

Across FY2016 to FY2025, 36,472 people started an HVAC apprenticeship, 13,773 completed one and 15,160 left without completing. Each year's starts and exits involve different people, so these sums are not a cohort.

For an owner, the trend means more registered programs and more apprentices to recruit from than a decade ago, but the pool is still small next to the 409,670 people employed in the trade.

One HVAC apprentice for every 32.0 technicians; electricians train five times as many

Dividing apprentices by employment puts trades of different sizes on one scale. HVAC trains 31.2 apprentices per 1,000 workers, below every other skilled construction trade compared here.

In FY2025 there were 31.2 active HVAC apprentices for every 1,000 HVAC mechanics and installers employed in May 2025. Electricians had 154.5, sheet metal workers 117.2 and plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters 115.1. Only construction laborers (29.8) were lower.

This data does not show why the gap exists. One documented difference is the entry route: BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry education for HVAC mechanics and says some technicians train through an apprenticeship. School-based training is covered in the HVAC technician shortage report, which compares training awards with openings; this report counts only registered apprentices.

For a contractor, a ratio this low means most technicians on the market were not trained in a registered program, so certificates of completion are uncommon on resumes and in-house training records carry more weight.

Iowa, Rhode Island and Hawaii lead the states on HVAC apprenticeship per worker

State ratios range from 229.2 per 1,000 in Iowa to 1.4 in Washington among 45 ranked states. Large states sit near or below the national 31.2.

Iowa had 880 active HVAC apprentices against 3,840 HVAC jobs, or 229.2 per 1,000. Rhode Island (204.8), Hawaii (196.2) and Delaware (183.2) follow. 19 of 45 ranked states are above the national ratio.

By raw count, California led with 1,612 active HVAC apprentices (45.9 per 1,000) and Florida had 1,126 (28.8). Texas, with 34,730 HVAC jobs, had 476 apprentices, or 13.7 per 1,000.

A high ratio in a small state can come from one or two large sponsors. For an owner, the state row shows how common registered HVAC training is where you hire, not how good any single program is.

About half of each HVAC apprenticeship cohort finishes: 49.8% for FY2024

Under the federal cohort method, HVAC completion rates sit a few points above the all-occupation average in most recent years. Pipe-trade titles that cover refrigeration finish far more often, from a small base.

Completion rate (29 CFR 29.2 and Circular 2026-03): The share of an apprenticeship cohort that receives a certificate of completion within one year of the projected completion date. The cohort excludes apprentices cancelled during the probationary period. DOL publishes each cohort a year late to allow for that extra year.

For the FY2024 cohort, 49.8% of apprentices in 65 HVAC occupation titles completed (2,394 people) and 44.9% cancelled after probation. The all-occupation rate was 46.5%, so HVAC was 3.3 points higher. Across the FY2019 to FY2024 cohorts the HVAC rate ranged from 43.9% to 54.3%.

A second view uses the yearly exit counts: in FY2025, 1,828 HVAC apprentices completed and 1,924 were cancelled, so completers were 48.7% of exits. The same share for all occupations was 44.0%. This is not a cohort rate, but it points the same way.

The 7 pipe-trade titles that name refrigeration or HVAC (for example union steamfitter refrigeration programs) completed at 73.6% in FY2024, from a cohort of about 159. They are kept out of the HVAC count because DOL codes them to the pipefitter occupation.

For an owner who sponsors apprentices, roughly one in two starters will not reach completion, so the cost of a program has to be planned against that loss rate.

Most federal HVAC apprenticeship standards run 6,000 or 8,000 hours

On the DOL list of apprenticeable occupations, HVAC terms run from 4,000 hours (oil burner servicer) to 10,000 hours for hybrid programs, which is roughly two to five years of full-time work.

The federal rule sets a floor: a time-based term needs at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning, and DOL recommends at least 144 hours of related instruction for each year (29 CFR 29.5). The DOL list of apprenticeable occupations carries 15 entries coded to O*NET 49-9021. 9 of the 12 time-based entries are 6,000 or 8,000 hours, which is 3 or 4 years at 2,000 hours a year.

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook describes HVAC apprenticeships as usually lasting several years, with paid on-the-job training and technical instruction each year.

Completers report a median $32.50 an hour, against a $21.00 start

Sponsor-reported wages in RAPIDS show a 54.8% gap between the median starting wage of new HVAC apprentices and the median exit wage of completers in FY2025.

The median exit wage of FY2025 HVAC completers ($32.50) is 110.8% of the May 2025 OEWS median for all HVAC mechanics ($29.33). Starting and exit wages describe different people, and wage fields are entered by sponsors, so treat the gap as indicative.

For an owner, the exit wage is the pay level newly certified technicians report, so keeping a completer means planning for pay near that level by the end of the program.

What the federal count misses: New York, Connecticut and 22.0% of records with no occupation code

The 12,795 figure counts only records that DOL can tie to the HVAC occupation code. The true number is higher.

• 153,078 of 695,153 active apprentice records in FY2025 (22.0%) have no SOC code in the dashboard.
• If those records held HVAC apprentices at the same 2.36% share as coded records, the FY2025 count would be about 16,400. This is a sensitivity check, not an estimate DOL publishes.
• New York and Connecticut report outside RAPIDS and show no HVAC rows; Maryland also manages its own data, and DOL refers Pennsylvania users to the state office.
• Small counts under 10 are suppressed; at the state level this hides 11 FY2025 active HVAC apprentices.
• Unregistered apprenticeships and informal helper roles at HVAC contractors are not in any federal count.

Key findings

1. 12,795 people were active registered apprentices in HVAC occupations (SOC 49-9021) in the U.S. in FY2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).^[2]
2. HVAC mechanics ranked 9 of 215 detailed occupations by active registered apprentices in FY2025, with 1.8% of the 695,381 total.^[2]
3. Active HVAC apprentices rose 105.2% from FY2016 (6,236) to FY2025, while all registered apprentices rose 78.5%.^[2]
4. In FY2025 the U.S. had 31.2 active HVAC apprentices for every 1,000 employed HVAC mechanics and installers (409,670 in May 2025).^[2][8]
5. Electricians had 154.5 active apprentices per 1,000 employed in FY2025, 5.0 times the HVAC ratio.^[2][8]
6. New HVAC registrations reached 4,503 in FY2025, or 11.0 per 1,000 employed HVAC mechanics; the high point in the series was FY2023 at 4,690.^[2][8]
7. Iowa had the highest state ratio in FY2025 at 229.2 active HVAC apprentices per 1,000 HVAC workers (880 apprentices, 3,840 workers).^[2][7]
8. California had the most active HVAC apprentices of any state in FY2025 (1,612), followed by Florida (1,126).^[2]
9. Texas, with 34,730 HVAC workers, had 476 active HVAC apprentices in FY2025, or 13.7 per 1,000.^[2][7]
10. The median state ratio among 45 ranked states was 27.3 per 1,000 in FY2025.^[2][7]
11. For the FY2024 cohort, 49.8% of apprentices in 65 HVAC occupation titles completed within a year of their expected end date, against 46.5% for all occupations.^[4][5]
12. HVAC cohort completion rates ranged from 43.9% to 54.3% across the FY2019 to FY2024 cohorts.^[4]
13. In FY2025, 1,828 HVAC apprentices completed and 1,924 were cancelled, so completers made up 48.7% of exits, against 44.0% for all occupations.^[2]
14. HVAC completers in FY2025 reported a median exit wage of $32.50 an hour, against a median starting wage of $21.00 for new HVAC apprentices.^[1][2]
15. 9 of 12 time-based HVAC occupations on the DOL apprenticeable list carry a term of 6,000 or 8,000 hours.^[11]

Summary for decision makers

• The U.S. had 12,795 active registered HVAC apprentices in fiscal year 2025 and 13,628 in FY2026 through September 3, 2026 (DOL RAPIDS).
• The FY2025 count is 105.2% above FY2016 (6,236), faster than the 78.5% rise for all registered apprentices.
• Signature measure: 31.2 active HVAC apprentices per 1,000 employed HVAC mechanics in FY2025, or one apprentice for every 32.0 technicians.
• Electricians train 154.5 apprentices per 1,000 workers, 5.0 times the HVAC rate; sheet metal workers 117.2; plumbers and pipefitters 115.1.
• Iowa (229.2), Rhode Island (204.8) and Hawaii (196.2) lead the state index; Texas sits at 13.7 and Washington at 1.4.
• Under the DOL cohort method, 49.8% of the FY2024 HVAC cohort completed and 44.9% cancelled after probation, against a 46.5% completion rate for all occupations.
• Federal HVAC terms range from 4,000 to 8,500 hours for time-based programs; 9 of 12 are 6,000 or 8,000 hours, or 3 to 4 years at 2,000 hours a year.
• New York, Connecticut and New Mexico show no HVAC rows, and 22.0% of FY2025 apprentice records carry no occupation code, so every count here is a floor.

Frequently asked questions

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Reproduce this analysis

Every figure comes from the files below. The scripts that pulled and computed them are kept with the report and can be re-run.

Data quality and exclusions

• Excluded 153,078 FY2025 active records with no SOC code (22.0% of the SOC breakdown) from the HVAC count; shown as a sensitivity range instead.
• Dropped from state ratios: 3 jurisdictions with no HVAC rows (Connecticut, New Mexico, New York) and 3 showing 0 (District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Mississippi); 45 states ranked.
• Kept out of state rows but in the national total: 252 FY2025 active HVAC apprentices in DOL national office programs and 26 in Guam.
• Small-cell suppression: national FY2025 active HVAC total exceeds the sum of displayed rows by 11. Counts under 10 display as 0 or '< 10' and were not imputed.
• Completion title rule kept 65 titles and set aside 7 pipe-trade titles; auto air conditioning, drafting, boiler and furnace operator titles were excluded.
• Wage medians are DOL's own calculation from sponsor-reported wages ($7.25 to $150 an hour); several unrelated occupations show implausible medians, so wages are used only for HVAC and only as indicative.

Methodology

Source selection: apprentice counts come only from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship dashboards on apprenticeship.gov, which publish RAPIDS records including data uploaded by State Apprenticeship Agencies. Employment comes from BLS OEWS May 2025. Program terms come from the DOL list of apprenticeable occupations and 29 CFR part 29. Trade-press and school pages are used only as pages to beat.

Data access: DOL publishes these dashboards as embedded public Tableau workbooks without a download file. We opened the same public viewing session the apprenticeship.gov page opens, with an identified User-Agent, applied the dashboard's own filters (apprentice type, fiscal year, SOC Granular occupation, occupation title) and saved every returned table in raw/. No login, key or challenge was involved. Scripts are in scripts/.

Definitions: HVAC = SOC 49-9021 in the dashboard's SOC Granular view. Active = participating in an apprenticeship at any time in the selected fiscal year (October to September), per the dashboard FAQ; DOL's older national results counted active apprentices on a single day. State = program location (the dashboard default). National totals include national programs and territories; state ratios cover the 50 states and DC.

Completion rates: the completion dashboard has no SOC filter, so we selected 65 of its 2,745 occupation titles with a coded keyword rule (include heating, air conditioning, HVAC, refrigeration, furnace installer, hydronic, environmental control, oil burner; exclude auto service, drafter, attendant, boiler, furnace operator and maintenance, and pipe-trade titles). Pipe-trade titles naming refrigeration or HVAC form a separate sensitivity group. The dashboard computes each rate with the Circular 2026-03 formula.

Conflicting numbers: DOL's FY2021 national results page reported 593,690 active apprentices on the older point-in-time basis; the current dashboard shows a different FY2021 figure under the fiscal-year definition. We use the dashboard throughout and do not mix the two.

Derived metrics: every ratio is computed in scripts/04_compute.py and listed with its formula and input rows in derived_metrics.csv. Cross-check: the HVAC total in each fiscal year and apprentice type matched between the trend sheet and the filtered totals for all 24 pulls.

Last updated 2026-11-02. DOL refreshes the dashboards monthly; the next update of this page is planned after the FY2026 data close.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (14)

• [1] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. Apprentices by State Dashboard (data through 2026-09-03). FY2016 to FY2026 (to 2026-09-03). Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [2] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. Apprentices by State Preview, public Tableau workbook embedded in the DOL dashboard. FY2016 to FY2026 (to 2026-09-03). Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [3] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. Apprentice Completion Rate Analysis (BETA). FY2013 to FY2024 cohorts. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [4] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. Completion Rate Analysis, public Tableau workbook embedded in the DOL page. FY2019 to FY2024 cohorts used. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [5] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. Office of Apprenticeship Circular 2026-03: Registered Apprenticeship Program Completion Rates (March 9, 2026). 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [6] Office of the Federal Register, eCFR. 29 CFR part 29, Labor Standards for the Registration of Apprenticeship Programs (eCFR, current through 2026-10-29). current as of 2026-10-29. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [7] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. OEWS May 2025 state file (oesm25st.zip). May 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [8] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. OEWS May 2025 national file (oesm25nat.zip). May 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [9] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025 (news release USDL-26-0725). May 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [10] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers. current edition. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [11] U.S. Department of Labor (posted by South Dakota DLR). List of Occupations Officially Recognized as Apprenticeable by the Office of Apprenticeship (Revised March 2020), copy posted by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. Revised March 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [12] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. Bulletin 2020-64: List of Occupations Officially Recognized as Apprenticeable. March 26, 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [13] U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Registered Apprenticeship National Results, Fiscal Year 2021. FY2008 to FY2021. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [14] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. Apprenticeship.gov Data and Statistics (dashboard index). 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.

Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (3)

• [15] Trade Colleges Directory (tradecolleges.org). HVAC Technician Apprenticeships in California. undated, cites OEWS May 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [16] HVACClasses.org. Which States Have the Highest Demand for HVAC Workers. cites BLS May 2024. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [17] CLIMB (climbtheladder.com). How Long Is an HVAC Apprenticeship?. November 17, 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.