Data report · June 2026
Union scale vs the prevailing wage: the 10 trade-and-state pairs we can verify
We have real union scales for two trades in ten places. Here is exactly how far they run over the prevailing wage, and exactly where the data stops.
The finding
Across the 10 trade-and-state pairs we can verify, the union journeyman scale runs from +8.2% ($8,210, a plumber in Illinois) to +79.9% ($58,210, a plumber in California) over the BLS median. The average gap across these ten markets is about +$29,406 (+39%).
There is no single “union premium.” It depends on the trade, the local, and how high the prevailing wage already sits. And this is not a national number: we have union scales for 2 of 30 trades and 10 of 750 possible trade-and-state pairs. Everywhere else, we do not pretend.
TradesPays data report
Union scale vs the prevailing wage
How far the union journeyman scale runs over the BLS all-worker median, by trade and state. Ranked by percent. The 10 pairs we can verify.
- Plumber · California+79.9% / +$58,210
UA Local 38 (San Francisco): $131,040 · BLS median $72,830 · 47,660 workers (BLS)
- Electrician · Pennsylvania+60% / +$40,560
IBEW Local 98 (Philadelphia): $108,160 · BLS median $67,600 · 22,730 workers (BLS)
- Electrician · New York+55.8% / +$43,970
IBEW Local 3 (New York): $122,720 · BLS median $78,750 · 40,130 workers (BLS)
- Plumber · New York+55.7% / +$43,150
UA Local 1 (New York): $120,640 · BLS median $77,490 · 23,210 workers (BLS)
- Electrician · Texas+42.1% / +$24,630
IBEW Local 716 (Houston): $83,200 · BLS median $58,570 · 76,770 workers (BLS)
- Electrician · California+40.7% / +$30,960
IBEW Local 11 (Los Angeles): $107,120 · BLS median $76,160 · 73,310 workers (BLS)
- Electrician · Michigan+20% / +$15,250
IBEW Local 58 (Detroit): $91,520 · BLS median $76,270 · 23,530 workers (BLS)
- Plumber · Massachusetts+19.6% / +$18,440
UA Local 12 (Boston): $112,320 · BLS median $93,880 · 13,460 workers (BLS)
- Electrician · Illinois+10.7% / +$10,680
IBEW Local 134 (Chicago): $110,240 · BLS median $99,560 · 23,120 workers (BLS)
- Plumber · Illinois+8.2% / +$8,210
UA Local 130 (Chicago): $108,160 · BLS median $99,950 · 16,750 workers (BLS)
TradesPays · BLS OEWS May 2025 + IBEW/UA 2024 union scales. Union figure is the negotiated base journeyman scale; BLS median blends union and non-union workers.
Share it: download the chart (PNG) or the dataset (JSON). Every figure traces to BLS OEWS May 2025 and the published 2024 IBEW/UA scales.
The ten pairs, in full
Union journeyman scale (2024 CBA) next to the BLS all-worker median (OEWS May 2025), with the gap in dollars and percent. Sorted by percent.
| Trade · State | Union scale | BLS median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber · California | $131,040 | $72,830 | +$58,210 (+79.9%) |
| Electrician · Pennsylvania | $108,160 | $67,600 | +$40,560 (+60%) |
| Electrician · New York | $122,720 | $78,750 | +$43,970 (+55.8%) |
| Plumber · New York | $120,640 | $77,490 | +$43,150 (+55.7%) |
| Electrician · Texas | $83,200 | $58,570 | +$24,630 (+42.1%) |
| Electrician · California | $107,120 | $76,160 | +$30,960 (+40.7%) |
| Electrician · Michigan | $91,520 | $76,270 | +$15,250 (+20%) |
| Plumber · Massachusetts | $112,320 | $93,880 | +$18,440 (+19.6%) |
| Electrician · Illinois | $110,240 | $99,560 | +$10,680 (+10.7%) |
| Plumber · Illinois | $108,160 | $99,950 | +$8,210 (+8.2%) |
What this is not
The numbers above are real. Read honestly, here is what they can and can't tell you.
Not a true union-vs-non-union split.
BLS OEWS does not separate union from non-union workers. Its median blends both, so we compare the union scale to the blended prevailing wage. A pure non-union median would need data BLS doesn't publish.
Two trades, ten places.
Electrician (IBEW) and plumber (UA) only. 28 of the 30 trades on the site have no union scale on file, so they are excluded from this report, not estimated.
Base scale, not the whole check.
The union figure is the negotiated base journeyman scale. Overtime, shift differentials, travel and per-diem, and the pension/health package sit on top and aren't in these numbers, so the real package gap can run wider.
No cost-of-living adjustment.
California and New York scale high partly because they're expensive. We haven't ingested cost-of-living data, so we don't pretend to adjust for it.
These ten markets aren't a random sample.
We have scales for the big, well-organized locals that publish them, which skew toward high-cost union strongholds. So the average here isn't a representative national gap even for these two trades, and we don't present it as one.
Methodology
- Sources
- Union scales: published IBEW and UA local collective-bargaining agreements, journeyman inside-wireman / plumber base rate, circa 2024 (approximate; each verified against the local's agreement). Prevailing wage: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025, all-worker annual median by trade and state.
- How the premium is computed
- For each trade-and-state pair with both figures: union annual scale minus the BLS median (dollar gap), divided by the BLS median (percent gap). Where a state has more than one local, we use the highest journeyman scale. No figure is modeled or imputed.
- What's included
- Only the 10 trade-and-state pairs that have a real union scale and a real BLS median. Electrician and Plumber only.
- What's excluded, and why
- The other 28 trades have no union scale on file. Trade-and-state pairs where either side is missing are left out entirely rather than filled with an estimate.
- Known limitations
- Union scales are 2024 approximations of the base rate; BLS is a 2025 blended median that includes union members; neither is cost-of-living adjusted. Dates differ by design (union 2024 CBA vs BLS May 2025) and we state both rather than forcing a single year.
More on how we source everything: our methodology. The narrative companion to this report: what the union scales show.
Make this more than ten pairs
The only way a real union-vs-non-union picture gets built is one verified pay report at a time. Tell us your trade, your local or non-union status, and your state. We publish anonymously, never with a raw email address.