Computer repair spans skilled employment, hardware failure, consumer protection, service pricing, and electronics disposal. The statistics below distinguish U.S. occupation data, monitored consumer-PC studies, complaint reports, deceptive-service cases, and broader electronics estimates.
Key Computer Repair Statistics
These figures provide a concise view of the scale, risks, and outcomes associated with computer repair:
- In May 2023, 141,700 U.S. workers were employed as computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers.
- In May 2023, the combined occupation’s U.S. mean annual wage was $51,710.
- In May 2023, the combined occupation’s U.S. median hourly wage was $23.65.
- In May 2023, California employed 10,080 people in the combined repair occupation.
- In May 2023, Minnesota had a 1.61 location quotient and 2,370 workers in the combined occupation.
- In May 2023, San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward had 2,420 workers and a 1.95 location quotient.
- In an eight-month consumer-PC observation window, a machine with at least 30 accumulated CPU-days had a 1-in-190 chance of a CPU-subsystem crash.
- In the monitored consumer-PC study period, a PC that crashed once had a 1-in-3.3 chance of crashing again.
- In 2018, the FTC received 142,904 tech-support-scam reports in the United States Consumer Sentinel Network.
- In 2018, consumers reported $55 million in losses to tech-support scams.
- In 2018, the median reported individual tech-support-scam loss was $400.
- In 2018, people aged 60 and over were about five times as likely as younger people to report losing money to tech-support scams.
- In a 2024 FTC case, a deceptive security-scan company charged $27 to $58 for fake threat repairs.
- In that FTC case, the company recommended technician services costing another $199 to $499.
- In 2022, the FTC received more than 5.1 million Consumer Sentinel reports, a broader consumer-problem measure.
- In 2018, selected consumer electronics generation was estimated at 2.7 million U.S. tons.
- In 2018, selected consumer electronics recycling was estimated at 38.5% of generated weight.
- In 2018, EPA Electronics Challenge participants diverted 194,500 tons of end-of-life electronics from landfill.
Contents
- Computer repair workforce statistics and pay
- Computer repair statistics by state and metro area
- Consumer PC hardware failure and repeat-repair data
- Computer repair scams and consumer loss reports
- Computer repair costs and deceptive-service outcomes
- Repair, reuse, and electronics recycling statistics
Computer Repair Workforce Statistics and Pay
The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers as one occupation. Its figures are useful for the labor market around computer repair, but they are not PC-only employment statistics.
In May 2023, the occupation included 141,700 U.S. workers. The mean hourly wage was $24.86, the mean annual wage was $51,710, and the median hourly wage was $23.65.
These are observed BLS measures for the combined occupation.
| May 2023 U.S. wage measure | Amount |
|---|---|
| 10th-percentile hourly wage | $15.63 |
| 25th-percentile hourly wage | $18.15 |
| Mean hourly wage | $24.86 |
| Median hourly wage | $23.65 |
| 75th-percentile hourly wage | $29.28 |
| 90th-percentile hourly wage | $36.09 |
| 10th-percentile annual wage | $32,510 |
| Mean annual wage | $51,710 |
| 90th-percentile annual wage | $75,060 |
Source: Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers. The percentiles and averages cover the combined BLS occupation, not only PC technicians.
Computer Repair Statistics by State and Metro Area
Employment and pay vary by geography, while a location quotient indicates how concentrated an occupation is compared with the national average. A high quotient does not necessarily mean a large workforce, as small employment bases can produce high concentration values.
| Geography | Workers or wage | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|
| California | 10,080 workers | Not listed here |
| Texas | 7,520 workers | Not listed here |
| New York | 6,090 workers; $57,170 mean annual wage | 1.27 |
| Florida | 5,880 workers | Not listed here |
| New Jersey | 3,040 workers; $56,350 mean annual wage | 1.42 |
| Minnesota | 2,370 workers; $42,300 mean annual wage | 1.61 |
| Alaska | 140 workers; $57,660 mean annual wage | Not listed here |
The BLS state data show the scale difference between large employment markets and high-paying or highly concentrated smaller markets. Alaska had the highest listed state mean annual wage at $57,660, but only 140 workers, while Minnesota combined 2,370 workers with a 1.61 location quotient.
Metro-level figures show the same pattern. San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward had 2,420 workers, a 1.95 location quotient, and a $60,290 mean annual wage.
New York–Newark–Jersey City had 5,890 workers and a $59,680 mean annual wage, while Charlotte–Concord–Gastonia had a $59,410 mean annual wage.
Montgomery, Alabama, recorded a 3.56 location quotient and 290 workers. Bloomington, Indiana, recorded a 3.41 location quotient and 130 workers; both are small metro employment bases.
Source: Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers. The metro and state measures use the combined occupation and BLS geographic definitions.
Consumer PC Hardware Failure and Repeat-Repair Data
A peer-reviewed study of a million consumer PCs examined hardware failures in a monitored population. Its probabilities are study-specific estimates for the observed machines and subsystems, not universal repair-shop rates.
The study reported that machines with at least 30 accumulated CPU-days over eight months had a 1-in-190 chance of a CPU-subsystem crash. It also reported that a PC that had already crashed had a 1-in-3.3 probability of crashing a second time during the study observation period.
The authors further stated that a prior hardware crash could make a second crash up to 100 times more likely. That is upper-bound wording from the paper abstract, and it should not be interpreted as a general multiplier for every computer repair business or every hardware type.
Source: Cycles, cells and platters: An empirical analysis of hardware failures on a million Consumer PCs. The study is observational and applies to its monitored consumer-PC population and specified subsystems.
Computer Repair Scams and Consumer Loss Reports
FTC complaint statistics measure reports submitted by the public and partner organizations, not the total number of scams or the population prevalence of computer repair problems. Underreporting is likely, and the categories include technical-support scams rather than ordinary repair appointments.
In 2018, the FTC received 142,904 tech-support-scam reports through the U.S. Consumer Sentinel Network. Of these, 31,043 reports included usable age information, and 105,676 reports came from Microsoft’s Cybercrime Center, which is included in the FTC total rather than being an independent household survey.
Consumers reported $55 million in losses to tech-support scams in 2018. The median reported individual loss was $400, and people aged 60 and over were about five times more likely than younger people to report losing money; the comparison uses reports with usable age and loss information, not population incidence.
The broader 2022 Consumer Sentinel Data Book recorded more than 5.1 million consumer-problem reports. Fraud accounted for 2.4 million, identity theft for 1.1 million, and imposter scams for 725,989 reports; these categories are broader than computer repair or technical support.
Source: Older adults hardest hit by tech support scams and Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2022.
Computer Repair Costs and Deceptive-Service Outcomes
The available cost figures describe an FTC enforcement case, not the market-average price of legitimate computer repair. They illustrate how a low-cost diagnostic offer can be paired with a much larger service recommendation.
A deceptive computer-security-scan company charged consumers $27 to $58 for fake threat repairs. It then recommended technician services costing an additional $199 to $499.
The company agreed to pay $26 million in refunds to affected customers; that settlement amount is not a measure of ordinary repair revenue or total consumer loss.
In the 2022 Consumer Sentinel data, 22% of imposter-scam reports reported a dollar loss, and reported losses to imposter scams totaled nearly $2.7 billion. Imposter scams are broader than computer repair scams, so these figures provide consumer-protection context rather than a repair-specific price benchmark.
Source: What to know before you click on a ‘free’ computer security scan and Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2022.
Repair, Reuse, and Electronics Recycling Statistics
EPA selected-consumer-electronics data combine computer equipment with televisions, telephones, and other products. They therefore show the broader material stream around repair, reuse, and disposal, not a computer-only recycling rate.
| Year | Selected consumer electronics generated | Recycled |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.90 million U.S. tons | 190,000 tons |
| 2010 | 3.12 million U.S. tons | 650,000 tons |
| 2015 | 3.10 million U.S. tons | 1.23 million tons |
| 2018 | 2.70 million U.S. tons | 38.5% of generated weight |
EPA estimated 2.7 million tons of selected consumer electronics were generated in 2018, with recycling at 38.5% of generated weight. Earlier estimates put generation at 1.90 million tons in 2000, 3.12 million tons in 2010, and 3.10 million tons in 2015; recycling was 190,000 tons, 650,000 tons, and 1.23 million tons in those respective years.
Program-level results show what organized diversion can achieve. EPA Electronics Challenge participants diverted 194,500 tons of end-of-life electronics from landfill in 2018, and 99.9% of that diverted weight went to third-party certified recyclers.
EPA estimated the effort avoided more than 511,200 tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions, an equivalency calculation rather than a direct emissions measurement.
A Dell pilot diverted 660 pounds of magnet material to create 25,000 hard-disk drives. The 2019 report described the process as scalable to more than 8,000 pounds of magnet material and over 300,000 closed-loop hard-disk drives annually, a stated potential rather than achieved annual output.
Source: Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data and Past SMM Electronics Challenge Results and Winners.