Real pay data for skilled trades

What each skilled trade pays, nationally and by state, from federal wage data. Then the schools and registered apprenticeships that train for it, with tuition only where it is published.

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14Trades with BLS pay data (BLS OEWS May 2025)
$109,820Highest average (Elevator Mechanic)
13,602Listed programs
53States & territories

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates, average pay across all experience levels · $100k+ trades. Also: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, released 2026-08-27; DOL; NCES IPEDS 2023-24; College Scorecard tuition.

Trades that pay $100k+: Top 10% earn $100k+ in 11 trades; Elevator Mechanic averages $109,820 (BLS OEWS May 2025).

See all trades that pay $100k

The trades

Top-paying trades by average pay

National annual wages from the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates, released 2026-05-15. Each trade page has state and city pay, an O*NET profile and listed programs.

Elevator MechanicAverage$109,820Median$109,910Top 10%$158,890 LineworkerAverage$91,970Median$95,320Top 10%$128,690 Refinery & Process OperatorAverage$90,630Median$96,710Top 10%$115,880 Aircraft MechanicAverage$84,740Median$79,870Top 10%$128,890 Electrical & Electronic Engineering TechnicianAverage$80,680Median$78,190Top 10%$115,700 Industrial Automation TechnicianAverage$76,420Median$73,900Top 10%$109,890

See all 14 trades →

Built from public data, not opinions: BLS OEWS pay, Department of Education IPEDS programs, Department of Labor apprenticeships, and tuition only where it is published. Read the methodology → · Data API →