What skilled trades actually pay, where you are
Not one number. The whole range, from the government's survey of employers, next to the union scale contractors must pay on public jobs, for 29 trades in every state, metro and county.
Built from public federal data. Every figure carries its source and date.
Three numbers, side by side
Market wage
The 10th to 90th percentile of what employers report paying, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Median, range and rank for every state and metro.
Union and prevailing scale
The base wage plus fringe that federal projects must pay in each county, from Davis-Bacon wage determinations, with a flag for union-contract versus survey rates.
Local demand
Construction employment by state and metro every month since 1990, county contractor pay, and BLS ten-year projections for each trade.
Electrician pay by state, as a starting point
Every state
Each state page ranks all the trades by median pay, with the union scale by county and the construction jobs trend.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Every trade, ranked by median pay
- Construction manager Median $55.28/hr
- Elevator mechanic Median $52.84/hr
- Lineman Median $45.83/hr
- Construction supervisor Median $38.42/hr
- Boilermaker Median $36.74/hr
- Crane operator Median $32.73/hr
- Millwright Median $31.59/hr
- Wind turbine technician Median $30.83/hr
- Plumber Median $30.67/hr
- Electrician Median $30.38/hr
- Ironworker Median $30.18/hr
- Brickmason Median $29.87/hr
- Sheet metal worker Median $29.71/hr
- Diesel mechanic Median $29.70/hr
- HVAC technician Median $29.33/hr
- Carpenter Median $29.12/hr
- Heavy equipment operator Median $28.78/hr
- Drywall installer Median $28.33/hr
- Machinist Median $28.24/hr
- Plasterer Median $27.72/hr
- Glazier Median $27.44/hr
- Cement mason Median $27.41/hr
- Tile setter Median $26.77/hr
- Roofer Median $26.65/hr
- Welder Median $25.84/hr
- Solar installer Median $25.55/hr
- Painter Median $23.75/hr
- Insulation worker Median $23.62/hr
- Construction laborer Median $22.66/hr
Prevailing wage, county by county
Bidding public work, checking a paycheck, or just curious why the required rate in one county is twice the next? Every state page lists the Davis-Bacon base and fringe for each county and construction type, marks stale survey rates, and links to the official determination.
Which trade pays more?
Electrician or plumber? HVAC or lineman? Side-by-side pay, growth and openings, and a map of which one wins in each state.
What changed
Davis-Bacon rates are re-read every week, after the Department of Labor publishes its Thursday changes. Wages come from the May BLS release each year and construction jobs are refreshed monthly. The latest prevailing wage changes:
- Nov 6 Colorado: electrician rates up about $2.58 an hour. 3 rates in 1 determination (Building).
- Nov 6 Mississippi: plumber rates up about $4.30 an hour. 4 rates in 2 determinations (Building).
- Nov 6 Nevada: rates for boilermakers, cement masons and 19 other trades revised, most of them up (7 corrected). 2118 rates in 51 determinations (Building, Heavy, Highway).
- Oct 30 Iowa: cement mason and plasterer rates up about $1.90 an hour. 3 rates in 2 determinations (Building, Heavy).
- Oct 30 Illinois: cement mason rates up about $11.00 an hour. 1 rate in 1 determination (Heavy).
Full change log · How the numbers are built · Download the data