California is the #3 highest paying state for plumbers, HVAC technicians, and electricians

The United States is currently in the throes of a skilled trades worker shortage. Across the board, the country doesn’t have enough qualified electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and carpenters to meet the demand. One recent study found that many of the most in-demand jobs remain unfilled for at least a month. This comes as millions of Americans who were laid off during the early days of the coronavirus are looking for work.

That being said, not all job markets are the same. While it should be fairly easy to find work in all 50 states, how much that work pays is different depending on the state. To find the states where home service workers are paid the most, ServiceTitan analyzed June 2020 data from Payscale. The average salary of a home service worker was calculated by averaging the pay of entry-, intermediate-, and senior-level workers in each state. HVAC technicians, plumbers, and electricians were all included in the dataset, which can be seen nationally here.

California by the numbers

- Average yearly salary: $59,511 ($28.61 hourly)
--- Plumbers: $58,400 ($28.08 hourly)
--- Plumber pay increase from entry to senior level: $15,100 ($7.26 hourly)
--- HVAC technician: $59,433 ($28.57 hourly)
--- HVAC technician pay increase from entry to senior level: $17,800 ($8.56 hourly)
--- Electrician: $60,700 ($29.18 hourly)
--- Electrician pay increase from entry to senior level: $17,900 ($8.61 hourly)

There’s a gap between knowing an industry needs workers and actually getting workers into the industry. California is investing $200 million into the improvement of the delivery of vocational education—education that can add tens of thousands of dollars to an average trade worker’s salary. However, the sheer size of California means that not all metro areas are created equal for home service workers. The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metropolitan area is the highest-paying in the nation for both electricians and plumbers, and fourth-highest for HVAC technicians.

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and Merced areas, meanwhile, are also in the top 10 metros in the nation for electricians, while San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara ranks high for plumbers, and HVAC techs fare well in the Napa, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, and Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metros. Plus, the overall state employment for plumbers is expected to grow 12.4% by 2028. But it’s not all rosy: The premium placed on home service workers’ pay is partially explained by the fact that California has the nation’s third-highest cost of living.

Check the statistics below to discover where your talents are valued the most and least, and to get a better handle on whether or not making a move for your career would be worth it.

States that pay home service workers the most

#1. Alaska: $61,156 average yearly salary ($29.40 hourly)
#2. Massachusetts: $59,700 average yearly salary ($28.70 hourly)
#3. California: $59,511 average yearly salary ($28.61 hourly)

States that pay home service workers the least

#1. Arkansas: $47,944 average yearly salary ($23.05 hourly)
#2. West Virginia: $48,178 average yearly salary ($23.16 hourly)
#3. Idaho: $49,433 average yearly salary ($23.77 hourly)

This story originally appeared on ServiceTitan and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.