Data report
State of trade pay, 2026
The most quotable findings in the Trade Salaries data, computed from official sources. Core wage figures are BLS OEWS May 2025; each section names its own source and vintage.
Fastest pay growth, 2020 to 2025
+25.3%
Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers, average across 25 metros
Biggest city premium vs national
+66.3%
Electricians in Portland, $50.53/hr vs $30.38/hr nationally
Largest union pay gap
+55.5%
Construction and extraction occupations: union members earn $557/week more than nonunion workers
Pay growth
Fastest-growing trade pay, 2020 to 2025
Average change in the BLS median hourly wage across the 25 covered metros, May 2020 to May 2025. Only metro cells published in both years are counted.
City premiums
Where pay runs furthest above the national median
Metro median hourly pay vs the national median for the same trade, May 2025. Figures are BLS OEWS May 2025.
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Union premium
Union vs nonunion weekly earnings
BLS Current Population Survey, union membership 2025. National occupation-group medians; the premium is the same for every trade in a group. Comparisons do not control for age, firm size, industry, or geography.
Workplace safety
Highest fatal injury rates by trade
BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2024: deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. National average: 3.3 per 100,000. Where BLS publishes a rate only for a broader occupation group, the broader label applies.
DAFW = cases involving days away from work, BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses 2023-2024 (national average 86.6 per 10,000; DAFW (days away from work)).
Labor markets
Tightest trade labor markets
Projected annual openings per 1,000 employed workers, derived from BLS Employment Projections, 2025-2035 openings and BLS OEWS May 2025 employment. Higher means more openings relative to the size of the workforce.
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Every figure above is computed from the site's published datasets at build time. Sources, vintages, and computation methods are documented on the methodology page. Projections are not guarantees.