Minnesota is the #10 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.

Minnesota by the numbers

- Average yearly salary: $57,056 ($27.43 hourly)
--- Plumbers: $53,867 ($25.90 hourly)
--- Plumber pay increase from entry to senior level: $14,200 ($6.83 hourly)
--- HVAC technician: $55,967 ($26.91 hourly)
--- HVAC technician pay increase from entry to senior level: $18,200 ($8.75 hourly)
--- Electrician: $61,333 ($29.49 hourly)
--- Electrician pay increase from entry to senior level: $12,100 ($5.82 hourly)

Like many states, Minnesota has been struggling with stigmas and perceptions surrounding blue-collar work. Many millennials, who now make up the largest part of the workforce, were raised to believe that four-year degrees and the jobs requiring them were the only paths to prosperity. As a result, fewer younger workers are entering the trades, creating a shortage as baby boomer workers retire without a new cohort to replace them. This means that electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technician salaries are high in Minnesota.

Between 2013 and 2018, electrician salaries grew here by 24.2%—more than anywhere else in the country. Electricians, plumbers, or HVAC technicians make the top of the list for jobs for millennials in Minnesota with only vocational training required, meaning future workers in these sectors don’t have to take on the average debt load of those seeking jobs requiring four-year degrees. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, specifically, is the 10th-highest metropolitan area for plumbers’ pay, while the Northeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area is a top-paying nonmetropolitan area for HVAC technicians, 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.