Start with the answer
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers pay in Fairbanks-College, AK and Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers is $93,820 per year in Fairbanks-College, AK. It is $60,270 per year in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN. Fairbanks-College, AK is 55.7% above Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 49-9021 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 90 wage and salary jobs in Fairbanks-College, AK and 3,500 in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.