Side-by-side distribution
Architect
$171,460
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 25.7%
- Live roles
- 10,770
HVAC Technician
$32.84/hr
per hour · USD
- Disclosing
- 51.2%
- Live roles
- 1,093
Highest-paying jobs
Lead Systems Software Architect
Data Center Standards Architect
Principal Technical Architect, Product Management (AWS/Azure)
3P Systems Architect
Principal Solutions Architect, Public Sector Federal
Data Center Infrastructure Architect
Hardware Platform Security Architect
Director, Solution Architect, AI-Native Engineering
Interconnect and Compute Architect
CPU Architect, Load-Store
Highest-paying jobs
HVAC Selling Technician
HVAC Service Technician
Lead HVAC Service Technician
HVAC Senior Service Technician
HVAC - Mechanical 1099 Contractor - Maintenance Technician
HVAC - Mechanical 1099 Contractor - Maintenance Technician
HVAC - Mechanical 1099 Contractor - Maintenance Technician
HVAC - Mechanical 1099 Contractor - Maintenance Technician
HVAC - Mechanical 1099 Contractor - Maintenance Technician
HVAC - Mechanical 1099 Contractor - Maintenance Technician
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 127 |
Databricks
|
$213,750 | 79 |
Accenture
|
$180,350 | 64 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$174,600 | 50 |
Northrop Grumman
|
$153,500 | 48 |
| SA Salesforce | $198,050 | 42 |
GDIT
|
$195,000 | 37 |
Leidos
|
$163,338 | 37 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Sunbelt Rentals
|
$54,184 | 71 |
| DA Daikin Applied | $85,249 | 59 |
| JC Johnson Controls | $63,440 | 50 |
Carrier
|
$85,940 | 26 |
CaptiveAire
|
$73,750 | 26 |
| SI Sila | $72,800 | 21 |
Ace Hardware
|
$63,960 | 20 |
Comfort Systems USA
|
$84,240 | 19 |
Architect salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $199,800 | 219 |
| Seattle | $197,500 | 123 |
| Austin | $190,085 | 151 |
| Los Angeles | $189,750 | 106 |
| New York | $185,000 | 347 |
| Chicago | $180,350 | 218 |
| Boston | $180,350 | 167 |
| Atlanta | $180,350 | 143 |
| Denver | $175,200 | 125 |
| London | $174,844 | 27 |
Architect vs HVAC Technician: which pays more?
The median for Architect is $171,460 per year (typically $141,450–$204,363), versus $32.84/hr for HVAC Technician ($27.58/hr–$39.64/hr). That puts Architect about 151% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Architect and HVAC Technician are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.