Wages by trade and state
Pick your trade to see the hourly wage in every state. This is the May 2025 data of the U.S. Department of Labor; it helps you compare your rate, not set it.
- CleaningNational average: $17.83 an hour · median $17.07
- PaintingNational average: $26.64 an hour · median $23.75
- DrywallNational average: $30.58 an hour · median $28.33
- ConcreteNational average: $28.87 an hour · median $27.41
- LandscapingNational average: $20.33 an hour · median $18.82
Where each trade pays the most and the least
Cleaning: the national average is $17.83 an hour. Hawaii pays the highest, $25.18, and Mississippi the lowest, $12.43: the first pays 2.0 times as much.
Painting: the national average is $26.64 an hour. Hawaii pays the highest, $34.28, and South Carolina the lowest, $20.22: the first pays 1.7 times as much.
Drywall: the national average is $30.58 an hour. Hawaii pays the highest, $46.38, and Mississippi the lowest, $18.86: the first pays 2.5 times as much.
Concrete: the national average is $28.87 an hour. Alaska pays the highest, $48.08, and Mississippi the lowest, $20.90: the first pays 2.3 times as much.
Landscaping: the national average is $20.33 an hour. District of Columbia pays the highest, $24.62, and Mississippi the lowest, $16.12: the first pays 1.5 times as much.
How to read these figures
The average is the total of the wages divided by the workers; the median is the middle wage, with half of the workers above it and half below. When a few high wages pull the average up, the median says more about what a typical worker earns.
The BLS turns each hourly wage into an annual one with a typical work year of 2,080 hours, 40 hours over 52 weeks. The state pages use the same year, so their annual figures compare with the BLS figures.
Each state page compares its figure with the nation, with the states of its Census division, with the other trades of the state and with its minimum wage, and works out with our calculator what a job costs paid at the median. These are wages of employees: your rate as a contractor has to be higher.