Annual report · BLS OEWS data

Trade Salary Report 2026

What skilled trades actually pay in every state: 150 state×trade wage profiles from federal BLS data, ranked and joined to each state's licensing requirements. Free to cite with attribution.

By Brendan McClear · Data verified 2026-06-01

Key findings

1
The single best-paying state×trade combination is electricians in Oregon, at a median of $101,310 a year.
2
An electrician in Oregon (median $101,310) out-earns one in Arkansas ($49,070) by 106%. Across 50 states, the median-of-medians is $64,755.
3
A plumber in Illinois (median $99,950) out-earns one in Arkansas ($48,660) by 105%. Across 50 states, the median-of-medians is $63,785.
4
A HVAC contractor in Alaska (median $77,430) out-earns one in Arkansas ($48,110) by 61%. Across 50 states, the median-of-medians is $60,765.
5
The widest pay range is for electricians in California: the top 10% earn $140,340, 3× the bottom 10% ($46,800). Experience and license tier, not geography, drive the top of the range.

Electrician pay by state

50 states ranked by median annual wage. Bars scale to the top state.

#	State	Median	Top 10%
1	Oregon	$101,310	$131,530
2	Illinois	$99,560	$123,660
3	Hawaii	$96,460	$124,590
4	Washington	$95,220	$133,950
5	Alaska	$89,440	$123,200
6	Massachusetts	$79,420	$128,210
7	New York	$78,750	$131,640
8	Minnesota	$78,160	$118,820
9	Connecticut	$77,540	$104,280
10	New Jersey	$77,250	$130,860
11	Montana	$76,760	$89,510
12	Wisconsin	$76,540	$101,770
13	Michigan	$76,270	$103,120
14	California	$76,160	$140,340
15	Wyoming	$76,120	$104,000
16	Maine	$75,380	$115,720
17	Rhode Island	$74,090	$102,840
18	Nevada	$73,570	$121,200
19	Maryland	$73,490	$118,370
20	Indiana	$68,490	$99,310
21	Pennsylvania	$67,600	$122,620
22	Kansas	$65,860	$96,830
23	North Dakota	$65,710	$101,020
24	Missouri	$65,410	$104,060
25	West Virginia	$64,810	$95,140
26	Ohio	$64,700	$99,280
27	Delaware	$63,700	$105,340
28	Vermont	$63,430	$132,080
29	Idaho	$63,000	$95,470
30	Virginia	$62,900	$105,720
31	New Hampshire	$62,840	$91,850
32	Colorado	$62,230	$94,160
33	Utah	$62,000	$89,110
34	Louisiana	$61,540	$81,810
35	South Dakota	$61,390	$80,060
36	Tennessee	$61,090	$92,160
37	Arizona	$61,060	$89,600
38	Oklahoma	$61,010	$92,740
39	Iowa	$60,860	$89,480
40	Mississippi	$60,860	$76,540
41	Nebraska	$60,820	$94,040
42	Kentucky	$59,720	$85,260
43	South Carolina	$58,740	$77,800
44	Texas	$58,570	$80,300
45	New Mexico	$58,390	$86,830
46	Georgia	$58,320	$84,000
47	Florida	$57,250	$77,180
48	North Carolina	$56,800	$75,060
49	Alabama	$55,690	$78,230
50	Arkansas	$49,070	$74,460

Plumber pay by state

50 states ranked by median annual wage. Bars scale to the top state.

#	State	Median
1	Illinois	$99,950
2	Oregon	$97,050
3	Minnesota	$94,410
4	Alaska	$93,920
5	Massachusetts	$93,880
6	Wisconsin	$81,210
7	Washington	$81,030
8	Michigan	$80,190
9	Montana	$79,960
10	New Jersey	$78,240
11	Hawaii	$78,060
12	New York	$77,490
13	Connecticut	$77,280
14	Rhode Island	$76,470
15	Indiana	$76,320
16	California	$72,830
17	Pennsylvania	$68,080
18	New Hampshire	$66,810
19	Missouri	$66,790
20	Maryland	$65,400
21	Kansas	$65,220
22	Delaware	$64,720
23	Kentucky	$64,160
24	Maine	$64,000
25	Iowa	$63,890
26	Louisiana	$63,680
27	North Dakota	$63,560
28	Ohio	$63,330
29	Colorado	$63,240
30	Wyoming	$62,410
31	Vermont	$62,170
32	Arizona	$62,070
33	Utah	$61,900
34	Nevada	$61,610
35	New Mexico	$61,440
36	Nebraska	$60,970
37	Virginia	$60,470
38	Texas	$59,840
39	Alabama	$58,670
40	Tennessee	$58,600
41	Oklahoma	$57,970
42	Georgia	$57,200
43	North Carolina	$57,080
44	West Virginia	$56,980
45	Mississippi	$55,480
46	South Carolina	$53,940
47	Florida	$52,910
48	Idaho	$52,380
49	South Dakota	$51,620
50	Arkansas	$48,660

HVAC Contractor pay by state

50 states ranked by median annual wage. Bars scale to the top state.

#	State	Median
1	Alaska	$77,430
2	Illinois	$77,410
3	Massachusetts	$77,300
4	Connecticut	$76,610
5	Minnesota	$76,350
6	Washington	$75,660
7	North Dakota	$74,490
8	New Jersey	$74,450
9	New York	$74,430
10	New Hampshire	$73,850
11	California	$72,560
12	Maryland	$70,020
13	Rhode Island	$67,370
14	Hawaii	$65,450
15	Colorado	$65,200
16	Maine	$63,170
17	Oregon	$62,940
18	Ohio	$62,510
19	Pennsylvania	$62,400
20	Delaware	$62,320
21	Vermont	$62,150
22	Wisconsin	$61,710
23	South Dakota	$61,390
24	Michigan	$60,850
25	Montana	$60,850
26	Iowa	$60,680
27	Nevada	$60,510
28	Kansas	$60,460
29	Indiana	$60,430
30	Missouri	$59,950
31	Nebraska	$59,850
32	Virginia	$59,730
33	Arizona	$59,400
34	Utah	$58,730
35	Louisiana	$58,650
36	Kentucky	$58,620
37	Texas	$57,760
38	Oklahoma	$57,560
39	North Carolina	$57,260
40	Florida	$56,670
41	South Carolina	$56,610
42	Georgia	$56,390
43	Idaho	$56,240
44	Tennessee	$55,490
45	Wyoming	$54,700
46	New Mexico	$50,270
47	West Virginia	$48,850
48	Mississippi	$48,680
49	Alabama	$48,370
50	Arkansas	$48,110

Does licensing burden track pay?

The ten best-paying electrician states, with each state's continuing-education load (normalized to hours per year) and lowest published state renewal fee. High pay doesn't require heavy CE: several top-ten states require none at all.

State	Median pay	CE hrs/yr	Renewal fee
Oregon	$101,310	8	$100
Illinois	$99,560	0	$200
Hawaii	$96,460	0	$306
Washington	$95,220	8	$77
Alaska	$89,440	4	$250
Massachusetts	$79,420	7	$104
New York	$78,750	8	-
Minnesota	$78,160	8	$53
Connecticut	$77,540	4	$120
New Jersey	$77,250	11.3	$225

Methodology & how to cite

Wage figures are state-level annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (BLS OEWS May 2025, Electricians (47-2111); BLS OEWS May 2025, HVACR Mechanics & Installers (49-9021); BLS OEWS May 2025, Plumbers, Pipefitters & Steamfitters (47-2152)). “Median-of-medians” is the median across state medians, unweighted by employment. Licensing figures (CE hours, renewal fees) come from each state licensing board and are dated on the linked state pages. General-contractor wages use BLS Construction Managers (11-9021) as a proxy (BLS publishes no exact GC occupation).

This report is free to cite or republish in part with attribution and a link: “Trade Cert Hub, Trade Salary Report 2026” → https://tradecerthub.com/studies/trade-salary-report/. For interview requests or custom state/trade cuts of the data, email hello@tradecerthub.com.

Informational only: not legal advice, and not affiliated with any licensing board. Confirm every figure with the official board before you act. Some links are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclaimer.

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