Elevator Maintenance recruiters serving Durham-Chapel Hill.
BLS counts 6 business locations of nonresidential building-equipment contractors across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Durham-Chapel Hill.
BLS counts about 490 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Durham-Chapel Hill metro, the largest group being construction and building inspectors (about 310). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Elevator Maintenance hub.
Elevator Mechanic / Installer
Sample job description →Durham-Chapel Hill: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
Elevator Service Technician
Elevator Maintenance Technician
QEI-Certified Inspector
Durham-Chapel Hill: 310 employed · $73,590 median, 50th-highest of 112 metros
Escalator Technician
Elevator Modernization Technician
Elevator Project Manager
Durham-Chapel Hill: 760 employed · $119,980 median, 36th-highest of 111 metros
Elevator Service Dispatcher / Coordinator
Durham-Chapel Hill: 260 employed · $50,350 median, 39th-highest of 111 metros
Elevator Estimator
Durham-Chapel Hill: 360 employed · $80,800 median, 32nd-highest of 111 metros
Elevator Controls / Electronics Technician
Durham-Chapel Hill: 180 employed · $76,740 median, 38th-highest of 107 metros
What Elevator Maintenance roles earn in Durham-Chapel Hill.
BLS publishes no Durham-Chapel Hill pay for elevator and escalator installers and repairers; nationally the median is $109,910. Construction and building inspectors in Durham-Chapel Hill earn a median $73,590, level with the $74,690 national figure, and 50th of 112 metros. Pay runs $47,640 at the tenth percentile to $92,190 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $76,740 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds Durham-Chapel Hill pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | Durham-Chapel Hill median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elevator Mechanic / Installer · Elevator Service Technician · Elevator Maintenance TechnicianElevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers (47-4021) | – | – | $109,910 | – | – |
| QEI-Certified InspectorConstruction and Building Inspectors (47-4011) | $73,590 | $47,640–$92,190 | $74,690 | −1% | 310 |
| Elevator Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $119,980 | $77,550–$200,870 | $114,990 | +4% | 760 |
| Elevator Service Dispatcher / CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $50,350 | $37,720–$71,320 | $50,340 | 0% | 260 |
| Elevator EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $80,800 | $43,800–$131,400 | $78,740 | +3% | 360 |
| Elevator Controls / Electronics TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $76,740 | $61,720–$97,040 | $74,090 | +4% | 180 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Durham-Chapel Hill metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Durham-Chapel Hill's elevator maintenance market has changed since 2018.
Durham-Chapel Hill lost nonresidential building-equipment contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 7 business locations to 6 (down 14%), behind the 8% growth nationally. With so few firms, one opening or closing moves that percentage a long way. How many people those 6 locations employ is not published: with a category this small, BLS would effectively be reporting individual employers' payrolls.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential building-equipment contractors: business locations | 7 | 6 | −14% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Elevator Maintenance hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Elevator Maintenance · 2026 Elevator Maintenance Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Elevator Maintenance
How Durham-Chapel Hill's elevator maintenance market compares
| Metro | Commercial employers |
|---|---|
| Charlotte | 97 |
| Raleigh | 35 |
| Greensboro | 23 |
| Winston-Salem | 13 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | 6 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Durham-Chapel Hill metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Elevator Maintenance licensing in North Carolina.
North Carolina's Elevator Safety Act sets qualifications for inspectors but has no statewide elevator mechanic or elevator contractor license. The state Department of Labor says companies installing equipment must have an electrical license number from the state's electrical licensing board. The same state rules apply in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, so candidates licensed there can work in Durham-Chapel Hill without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: North Carolina Department of Labor, Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Durham-Chapel Hill talent.
The closest metro we cover is Raleigh, about 20 miles away. BLS does not publish Durham-Chapel Hill figures for this occupation, so the nearby markets are the best guide: Richmond has the largest pool within reach, about 90, at a $108,250 median.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham-Chapel Hill | – | – | – |
| Raleigh | 21 mi | – | – |
| Greensboro | 50 mi | – | – |
| Winston-Salem | 75 mi | – | – |
| Charlotte | 121 mi | – | – |
| Richmond | 134 mi | 90 | $108,250 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Durham-Chapel Hill crews.
Not elevator maintenance work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Durham-Chapel Hill in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- AbbVie pharmaceutical manufacturing campus$1.4BConstruction begins 2026, completion by end of 2028
185 acres near Research Triangle Park - small volume parenteral drug manufacturing, next-generation labs, a warehouse, and administrative/wellness facilities. 734 direct jobs over 4 years and 2,000+ construction jobs during buildout.
- Novartis biologics manufacturing investment$771M (across Durham and Wake counties)Multi-year buildout
Two new facilities for biologics manufacturing and sterile packaging, plus an expansion of Novartis' existing Durham facility to add sterile filling of biologics into syringes and vials - about 700 jobs.
- UNC-Chapel Hill Carolina North campus extensionUndisclosedSite prep ahead of a projected summer 2027 groundbreaking
A planned campus extension with initial infrastructure work now underway.
These are the 3 projects we track in Durham-Chapel Hill. The Durham-Chapel Hill market page covers hiring conditions across every trade here.
What credentials matter for elevator maintenance, and what kills offers in Durham-Chapel Hill.
The 4 credentials that gate the work and the 4 things that most often end an elevator maintenance offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Elevator Maintenance credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - Elevator Maintenance hiring in Durham-Chapel Hill.
Which elevator maintenance roles pay the most in Durham-Chapel Hill?
Of the roles we recruit for, Elevator Project Manager pays the most in Durham-Chapel Hill, a $119,980 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Elevator Controls / Electronics Technician at $76,740, 36% below it. QEI-Certified Inspector is the lowest-paid field role at $73,590. Relative to national pay, Elevator Project Manager is the strongest-paying role here (4% above).
How many nonresidential building-equipment contractors operate in Durham-Chapel Hill?
BLS counted 6 nonresidential building-equipment contractors in Durham-Chapel Hill in 2023. Down from 7 in 2018, a 14% decline against 8% growth nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers. BLS counts elevator contractors under nonresidential building-equipment contractors.
Which nearby metros compete with Durham-Chapel Hill for elevator and escalator installers and repairers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Richmond (134 miles, about 90, $108,250 median), Myrtle Beach (159 miles, about 70, $93,360 median) and Columbia (183 miles, about 60, $80,830 median).
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6 nonresidential building-equipment contractors in Durham-Chapel Hill are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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