Wave — Market Intelligence

Is your shop paying enough
to hire and retain?

Enter your market and role. Wave tells you exactly where you stand.

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What Wave Measures

Five categories. Five years. One clear picture.

01
Housing & Rent Pressure
The primary driver of wage pressure in every market. Wave tracks both ownership cost trends and rental index movement by metro area over five years — the single most important factor in whether your pay is still competitive.
02
New & Used Vehicle Cost Trends
State-level averages from the BLS. Getting to and from work reliably is real wage pressue. We all feel this data point.
03
Fuel & Commute Cost
State-level weekly fuel averages from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Mechanics feel this daily. In rural and field-tech markets, commute cost is often the hidden dealbreaker between a candidate accepting or walking.
04
Grocery & Daily Spend
The emotional trigger. Grocery cost increases are felt at every paycheck. Wave tracks regional CPI food index movement — because candidates making decisions about job offers are doing so against what it costs to fill a cart.
05
Occupation Wage Benchmarks
BLS Occupational Employment Statistics by metro area for each trade role — diesel tech, automotive mechanic, heavy equipment operator, ag mechanic, and more. Updated annually. Compared against your current pay to calculate the real gap.
Sample Output

What a Wave report looks like

Role Metro 5yr Cost Pressure BLS Median Wage Hiring Pressure Score
Diesel Mechanic Dallas–Fort Worth, TX +31% $29.50/hr 58 — Tight
Automotive Mechanic Phoenix, AZ +28% $25.80/hr 49 — Competitive
Heavy Equipment Operator Chicago, IL +—% $—.—/hr — — ———
Ag Mechanic Fresno, CA +—% $—.—/hr — — ———

* Run the tool above to generate a live report for your ZIP code and role. Sample data shown for illustrative purposes.

Coverage

Roles we benchmark

Diesel Mechanic
Automotive Mechanic
Heavy Equipment Operator
Ag Mechanic
Lube Technician
Shop Foreman
Diesel — Trucking
Marine Mechanic
Transmission Specialist
Collision & Body
Generator & HVAC
Forklift & Warehouse