TradePathHub

HVAC & Pipefitter Salary in South Bend

Metro area wage data from the BLS OEWS program (May 2025), with Davis-Bacon journey-level scale from UA Local 172, effective June 2025.

The federal wage data on this page covers heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers, work that is largely service, maintenance, and residential installation. The union scale shown is journeyman pipefitter, which covers refrigerant, chilled water, and hydronic piping on commercial construction and falls under a different federal occupation code than the wage data above. Duct fabrication and installation is sheet metal work, represented by a separate union called SMART (the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers), and is not reflected in either figure.

How to become an HVAC technician or pipefitter →

Figures come from public sources and may not match the current contract; confirm with the local before making decisions.

UA Local 172 is the union local for pipefitters in South Bend, a combined plumbers and pipefitters local with its hall and training center on Ralph Jones Court. Indiana has no state prevailing wage law, so prevailing wage requirements apply only to federally funded construction.

UA Local 172 journeyman pipefitter Journey-Level Rate

Journey-Level Hourly
$44.93
Effective June 2025
Journey-Level Annual
$93,454
Based on 2,080 hrs / year
vs. BLS Area Median
+$33,994
Union scale vs. all-worker median

Union scale reflects the UA Local 172 journeyman pipefitter journey-level rate from the applicable Davis-Bacon wage determination. The BLS area median reflects all HVAC and refrigeration mechanics across all employment types and experience levels.

Training CenterSouth Bend and Vicinity Plumbers & Pipefitters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee
Address4172 Ralph Jones Court, South Bend, IN 46628
Phone(574) 273-0300
Websiteua172.org
Minimum ScoreNot published

Applying to UA Local 172?

Check with UA Local 172 for its current application requirements, including any aptitude test.

What to expect →

All HVAC and refrigeration mechanics, union and non-union, all experience levels

Median Annual
$59,460
-$1,550 vs. national
Median Hourly
$28.59
vs. Indiana
+$552
vs. state average
Total Employed
370
In this area

All HVAC and refrigeration mechanics, union and non-union, all experience levels. Wage figures only, employer-paid benefits, pension contributions, and health and welfare are not included.

Annual Median Wage$59,460
Annual Mean Wage$64,080
Hourly Median Wage$28.59
Hourly Mean Wage$30.81
Total Employed370
Area TypeMetropolitan Area
All pre-apprenticeship options →

Up to six other metros in Indiana, nearest first, then metros in other states within 300 miles. Journey-level rates are sourced from Davis-Bacon wage determinations, state prevailing wage determinations, or, where a local publishes one directly, its own collective bargaining agreement.

Union rates in every metro we cover →

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 49-9021). How we build these figures →