What skilled trades pay in Michigan, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 37 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $106,890 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Michigan pay page.
How Michigan compares
26 of the 42 trades we track in Michigan pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for rebar worker (+60%), plumber (+31%) and plasterer (+24%), and the biggest gaps for solar installer (-19%) and flooring installer (-16%). Prices in Michigan's metros run about 7% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $997 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Michigan
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is landscaper at $38,120.
Every trade in Michigan
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
- Maintenance Technician: 39,490 jobs
- Landscaper: 32,330 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 28,490 jobs
- Electrician: 23,530 jobs
- Auto Mechanic: 22,280 jobs
Michigan metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Flint: +7.1% (6,693 workers)
- Detroit: +3.9% (80,807 workers)
- Kalamazoo: +3.0% (6,053 workers)
- Grand Rapids: +2.5% (29,107 workers)
- Lansing: +1.9% (9,238 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
13.0% of Michigan workers belong to a union (14.2% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Michigan who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in landscaper (87%), electrical lineworker (85%) and elevator installer (75%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 405 wage cases against construction employers in Michigan, recovering $4,404,000 in back wages for 2,859 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, Michigan's state-run safety program and federal OSHA opened 2,018 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 15% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (27 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 Michigan metros with the most federal major disasters are Grand Rapids (3), Detroit (2) and Ann Arbor (2) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Michigan, 422 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 Michigan?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $106,890 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by elevator installer and rebar worker.
Which trade has the most jobs in Michigan?
maintenance technicians, with about 39,490 jobs statewide, followed by landscapers and construction laborers.
Which Michigan city pays the trades best?
Ann Arbor, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Detroit.
Is construction hiring growing in Michigan?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 7.1% from a year earlier in Flint, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and up 1.9% in Lansing.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Michigan 2026, payby.trade/report/mi/.”