What skilled trades pay in Idaho, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 37 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $125,410 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Idaho pay page.
How Idaho compares
13 of the 36 trades we track in Idaho pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for paving equipment operator (+47%), electrical lineworker (+30%) and rigger (+21%), and the biggest gaps for sheet metal worker (-25%) and drywall installer (-19%). Prices in Idaho's metros run about 7% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,015 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Idaho
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is pest control technician at $40,220.
Every trade in Idaho
Statewide medians and jobs, BLS OEWS May 2025. “vs. U.S.” compares with the typical U.S. metro median for the trade.
Where the jobs are
- Construction Laborer: 10,850 jobs
- Carpenter: 8,380 jobs
- Maintenance Technician: 8,200 jobs
- Landscaper: 7,980 jobs
- Construction Supervisor: 6,730 jobs
Idaho metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Boise City: +8.0% (37,907 workers)
- Idaho Falls: +7.7% (6,368 workers)
- Coeur d'Alene: +7.6% (6,921 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
4.1% of Idaho workers belong to a union (5.3% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Idaho who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in electrical lineworker (73%), sheet metal worker (66%) and electrician (60%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 112 wage cases against construction employers in Idaho, recovering $2,148,635 in back wages for 1,403 workers.offer check and keep your own record of hours.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, cases concluded 2018–2026. Counts only; employers aren't named here.
Safety inspections
In 2025, federal OSHA opened 79 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 46% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (2 after an accident or fatality); the rest were planned spot checks.
OSHA inspection data via the U.S. Department of Labor, construction (NAICS 23), inspections opened in 2025. Counts only.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Idaho metros with the most federal major disasters are Coeur d'Alene (6), Lewiston (3) and Boise City (1) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Idaho, 294 employers and programs are approved for GI Bill on-the-job training and apprenticeships, across all fields. Veterans in an approved trade apprenticeship can get a monthly housing allowance on top of apprentice pay. Search approved employers with the VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, GI Bill Comparison Tool data, October 2026.
Common questions
What is the highest-paying skilled trade in Idaho?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $125,410 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by construction supervisor and paving equipment operator.
Which trade has the most jobs in Idaho?
construction laborers, with about 10,850 jobs statewide, followed by carpenters and maintenance technicians.
Which Idaho city pays the trades best?
Coeur d'Alene, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Lewiston.
Is construction hiring growing in Idaho?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 8.0% from a year earlier in Boise City, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and up 7.6% in Coeur d'Alene.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Idaho 2026, payby.trade/report/id/.”