Key findings
- Plumbers and electricians are paid almost the same. The national median was $30.67 an hour for plumbers and $30.38 for electricians in May 2025, against $24.51 for all U.S. workers.
- Highest paid electricians: Portland ($50.53); Chicago ($49.21); Seattle ($48.93), all above $48 an hour. The lowest of the 34 metros: Orlando ($24.43); Raleigh ($27.31); San Antonio ($27.41).
- Highest paid plumbers: Chicago ($49.70); Minneapolis ($48.86); Portland ($48.56). The lowest: Tampa ($25.00); Orlando ($26.62); Miami ($27.77).
- HVAC technicians earn the most in Seattle ($38.51); Boston ($37.75); New York ($37.50), and the least in Tampa ($24.30); Orlando ($24.74); Tucson ($26.96).
- Orlando and Tampa sit at the bottom for plumbers and HVAC technicians among the 34 metros we compared, and Orlando has the lowest median for electricians.
- A top-paid tradesperson earns more than double a low-paid one. Nationally, the 90th percentile plumber made $52.13 an hour and the 10th percentile $21.22.
How much do electricians, plumbers and HVAC techs make?
These are the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 wage estimates, released May 15, 2026. The median is the middle of the range: half of workers in the trade earn more, half less.
| Trade | Median hourly | Median yearly | 10th to 90th percentile, hourly | Employed (wage and salary) | Job outlook 2025 to 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbers | $30.67 | $63,800 | $21.22 to $52.13 | 465,840 | 7% |
| Electricians | $30.38 | $63,190 | $20.50 to $52.17 | 757,220 | 9% |
| HVAC technicians | $29.33 | $61,010 | $19.25 to $45.78 | 409,670 | 11% |
| Roofers | $26.65 | $55,440 | $18.01 to $39.29 | 135,490 | 5% |
| Carpenters | $29.12 | $60,580 | $19.43 to $48.03 | 670,090 | 4% |
| General maintenance and repair workers (handyman work) | $23.84 | $49,590 | $17.00 to $37.11 | 4% | |
| All U.S. occupations | $24.51 | $50,980 | 155,495,730 |
Roof, electrical or water damage? Call the line for the job; each goes to a local company that takes that work.
Employment counts are from the BLS wage survey and exclude self-employed workers; the Occupational Outlook Handbook's job counts, which include them, are higher (510,600 plumbers against 465,840). The general maintenance and repair row is the closest BLS category to handyman work; its employment count is left blank because we could not confirm it. Yearly figures are hourly pay times 2,080 hours, as BLS reports them.
Highest paying trades
Of the six trades in this table, the national median ranks them: Plumbers $30.67; Electricians $30.38; HVAC technicians $29.33; Carpenters $29.12; Roofers $26.65; General maintenance and repair workers $23.84. The spread inside each trade is wider than the gap between them: a 90th percentile electrician earned more than twice the hourly pay of a 10th percentile one.
Trade pay by metro: 34 metro areas
Download the data (CSV, all six trades)
| Metro area | Electricians | Plumbers | HVAC techs | Roofers | Carpenters | General maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $50.53 | $48.56 | $31.38 | $29.43 | $35.44 | $28.25 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $49.21 | $49.70 | $37.48 | $39.47 | $38.68 | $27.90 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $48.93 | $45.78 | $38.51 | $30.81 | $36.74 | $29.21 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $39.37 | $48.86 | $37.25 | $36.25 | $35.61 | $29.07 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $38.42 | $46.52 | $37.75 | $31.90 | $36.16 | $28.69 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $37.99 | $37.79 | $37.50 | $36.73 | $35.72 | $28.63 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $37.10 | $37.02 | $30.29 | $28.25 | $34.13 | $25.93 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | $36.95 | $36.61 | $30.14 | $28.09 | $29.72 | $23.49 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $36.62 | $34.86 | $36.00 | $29.90 | $35.19 | $26.22 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $36.50 | $34.55 | $34.58 | $28.05 | $29.23 | $27.52 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $35.98 | $31.35 | $32.06 | $30.44 | $35.79 | $27.20 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $35.86 | $35.99 | $31.05 | $28.72 | $29.70 | $24.14 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $35.49 | $34.19 | $35.49 | $30.56 | $36.41 | $27.17 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | $34.08 | $28.70 | $28.96 | $23.94 | $29.99 | $24.96 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $33.34 | $33.70 | $29.87 | $25.17 | $29.41 | $23.68 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $31.31 | $37.01 | $29.89 | $24.80 | $31.28 | $23.81 |
| Columbus, OH | $31.11 | $30.41 | $30.98 | $23.76 | $31.96 | $25.38 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $30.45 | $28.90 | $28.97 | $23.14 | $26.81 | $23.45 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $30.36 | $30.72 | $34.41 | $26.84 | $31.21 | $25.21 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $30.11 | $31.15 | $29.23 | $23.18 | $28.78 | $25.31 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $29.43 | $30.65 | $29.41 | $22.96 | $29.00 | $23.52 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $29.33 | $28.44 | $28.91 | $21.00 | $23.53 | $21.04 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $29.03 | $30.20 | $29.24 | $22.76 | $24.16 | $23.43 |
| Tucson, AZ | $28.60 | $28.40 | $26.96 | $21.17 | $23.61 | $21.92 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $28.45 | $29.47 | $28.34 | $21.87 | $23.88 | $22.46 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $28.41 | $28.22 | $28.77 | $23.28 | $24.50 | $24.52 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $28.37 | $29.45 | $28.63 | $22.59 | $23.44 | $23.49 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $28.20 | $28.07 | $28.35 | $23.61 | $24.37 | $23.86 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $28.19 | $27.77 | $27.90 | $23.09 | $24.79 | $22.26 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $28.02 | $28.33 | $28.17 | $22.85 | $24.30 | $22.78 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $27.62 | $25.00 | $24.30 | $22.68 | $25.06 | $22.12 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $27.41 | $27.97 | $28.17 | $21.02 | $23.51 | $21.82 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $27.31 | $29.10 | $28.32 | $24.39 | $24.43 | $23.98 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $24.43 | $26.62 | $24.74 | $22.74 | $23.92 | $22.15 |
Median hourly pay, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, as published by O*NET OnLine. Sorted by electrician pay. Metro areas use the BLS names. The CSV adds annual pay and 10th and 90th percentiles. Metro names link to our local guide for that city.
What they earn vs. what you pay
The hourly rate on a bill is not the worker's pay. The median electrician was paid $30.38 an hour, while HomeGuide's and HomeAdvisor's guides put electricians' billed rates at $50 to $130 an hour. The median plumber was paid $30.67, against HomeAdvisor's $45 to $200 billed range. The billed rate also covers the company's truck, insurance, licensing, office, travel time and profit.
Billed rates in detail: plumber cost per hour, electrician cost per hour and HVAC repair cost.
Need the work done rather than the numbers? Call the line for the trade you need.
How we built this
- National figures are from the BLS news release table for May 2025 (employment and medians) and the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (job outlook).
- Metro figures are the BLS May 2025 estimates as republished by O*NET OnLine, a U.S. Department of Labor site, which labels them as BLS 2025 wage data. We used each metro's published median and 10th and 90th percentiles.
- We re-checked a sample of the numbers against the source pages after building the table; all matched.
- BLS wage data covers wage and salary workers. It does not include self-employed tradespeople or business owners.
Cite this data
Home Repair Dispatch, What tradespeople earn by metro (BLS May 2025 data), https://homerepairdispatch.com/what-tradespeople-earn/, accessed [date].
The tables and CSV are free to use with a link to this page. Please also credit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Questions people ask
How much do electricians make?
The median electrician was paid $30.38 an hour, or $63,190 a year, in May 2025, according to the BLS. The top 10% earned more than $52.17 an hour.
How much do plumbers make?
The median plumber was paid $30.67 an hour, or $63,800 a year, in May 2025 (BLS). Pay ran from $21.22 at the 10th percentile to $52.13 at the 90th.
How much do HVAC techs make?
The median HVAC technician was paid $29.33 an hour, or $61,010 a year, in May 2025 (BLS).
What is the highest paying trade?
Of the six trades we compared, plumbers had the highest national median ($30.67 an hour), just ahead of electricians ($30.38). In Portland, Chicago and Seattle, electricians' medians top $48 an hour.
Where do electricians make the most?
Of the 34 metro areas we compared, Portland ($50.53); Chicago ($49.21); Seattle ($48.93) had the highest median electrician pay.
Why does a plumber charge more per hour than a plumber earns?
The billed rate pays for the company's costs as well as the worker: the truck, insurance, licensing, office staff, travel time and profit. See plumber cost per hour for billed rates.
Can I use this data?
Yes. The tables and CSV are free to use with a link to this page. Please also credit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Not sure which trade you need? Roof leaks go to the roof line, power problems to the electrician line, anything wet to the water damage line.
- 1Call the line
- 2It rings a local company
- 3They give you the price
Sources (12)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025, Table 1 (2026-05-15)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (2026-08-27)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electricians (2026-08-27)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (2026-08-27)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Roofers (2026-09-14)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Carpenters (2026-08-27)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: General Maintenance and Repair Workers (2026-08-27)
- O*NET OnLine Local Wages (BLS 2025 wage data): Electricians (2026-10-18)
- O*NET OnLine Local Wages (BLS 2025 wage data): Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (2026-10-18)
- O*NET OnLine Local Wages (BLS 2025 wage data): HVAC Mechanics and Installers (2026-10-18)
- O*NET OnLine Local Wages (BLS 2025 wage data): Roofers (2026-10-18)
- O*NET OnLine Local Wages (BLS 2025 wage data): Carpenters (2026-10-18)