See how much plumbers, HVAC technicians, and electricians are paid in Maine

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.

Maine by the numbers

- Average yearly salary: $56,400 ($27.12 hourly)
--- Plumbers: $55,200 ($26.54 hourly)
--- Plumber pay increase from entry to senior level: $14,400 ($6.92 hourly)
--- HVAC technician: $56,200 ($27.02 hourly)
--- HVAC technician pay increase from entry to senior level: $17,100 ($8.22 hourly)
--- Electrician: $57,800 ($27.79 hourly)
--- Electrician pay increase from entry to senior level: $17,000 ($8.17 hourly)

Many qualified tradespeople struggle to get licensed in Maine. The state doesn’t honor out-of-state licenses for electricians and instead requires even the most experienced workers to go back to school for a considerable length of time in order to earn a new, state-approved license. One unexpected result of this is that some companies are forced to shut down shop when the one or two master electricians retire, and the business can’t find experienced electricians with the proper state certification to replace them.

The good news for those who can obtain a Maine license is that wages are high because demand is high. This is especially true for experienced tradespeople, who can expect to earn upward of $35 per hour after 10 years. Plumbers, HVAC technicians, and electricians all fall on the list of high-wage, in-demand jobs in Maine. The cost-of-living in the state is the 10th-highest in the nation, a factor to consider in addition to the higher-than-average wages. The Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area is the third-highest nonmetropolitan area in the nation in terms of HVAC technician employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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.