How the data works
Base salary figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, May 2025 — the authoritative public source for occupational pay. We show the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile for each trade in each state.
Union figures are journeyman wage scales from IBEW and UA locals (approximate, flagged as such). Where BLS suppresses a state estimate for small sample size, we say so plainly rather than show a number we don't trust.
Member submissions — added anonymously, verified by email, never stored as a raw address — refine these numbers over time.
Data FAQ
- Where does TradesPays salary data come from?
- Base figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program (May 2025). We layer on journeyman wage scales from IBEW and UA locals where we have them, plus anonymous, email-verified peer submissions.
- What does TradesPays cover today?
- TradesPays tracks 30 skilled trades across 25 US states and 50 metro areas, all from BLS OEWS May 2025.
- What happens when BLS data is limited?
- Where BLS suppresses a state estimate for a small sample, we say so plainly rather than show a number we don't trust, and point you to the national median and nearby states instead.