Tire Repairers and Changers
Also called: Alignment Technician (Alignment Tech), Auto Tire Worker (Automotive Tire Worker), Commercial Tire Service Technician (Commercial Tire Service Tech), Commercial Tire Technician (Commercial Tire Tech), Lube Technician (Lube Tech), Mobile Tire Technician (Mobile Tire Tech), Service Technician (Service Tech), Tire Alignment Technician (Tire Alignment Tech)
Repair and replace tires.
What tire repairers and changers do
Typical tasks
- Unbolt and remove wheels from vehicles, using lug wrenches or other hand or power tools.
- Place wheels on balancing machines to determine counterweights required to balance wheels.
- Identify tire size and ply and inflate tires accordingly.
- Raise vehicles, using hydraulic jacks.
- Reassemble tires onto wheels.
- Glue tire patches over ruptures in tire casings, using rubber cement.
- Remount wheels onto vehicles.
- Seal punctures in tubeless tires by inserting adhesive material and expanding rubber plugs into punctures, using hand tools.
- Replace valve stems and remove puncturing objects.
- Apply rubber cement to buffed tire casings prior to vulcanization process.
- Hammer required counterweights onto rims of wheels.
- Buff defective areas of inner tubes, using scrapers.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Tire Repairers and Changers salary
The median annual wage for tire repairers and changers is $37,710 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $30,010 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $50,230. The mean annual wage is $40,170.
The mean hourly wage of $19.00 is 2.6× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Tire Repairers and Changers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $37,710 → in 3 years $41,400 → in 5 years $44,100 → in 10 years $51,500 (10-year range $44,300–$59,800). The model assumes pay growth of +3.2% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Tire Repairers and Changers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Tire Repairers and Changers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Tire Repairers and Changers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Tire Repairers and Changers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become tire repairers and changers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as tire repairers and changers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.