What skilled trades pay in Montana, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 37 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $110,320 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Montana pay page.
How Montana compares
26 of the 39 trades we track in Montana pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for plumber (+30%), electrician (+23%) and painter (+22%), and the biggest gaps for flooring installer (-33%) and plasterer (-21%). Prices in Montana's metros run about 4% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,311 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Montana
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is flooring installer at $37,710.
Every trade in Montana
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: 5,420 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 4,590 jobs
- Construction Supervisor: 4,350 jobs
- Landscaper: 4,270 jobs
- Carpenter: 4,030 jobs
Montana metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
11.2% of Montana workers belong to a union (12.3% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Montana who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in electrical lineworker (83%), sheet metal worker (69%) and electrician (55%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 19 wage cases against construction employers in Montana, recovering $638,748 in back wages for 182 workers.offer check and keep your own record of hours.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, cases concluded 2018–2025. Counts only; employers aren't named here.
Safety inspections
In 2025, federal OSHA opened 77 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 8% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (0 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 Montana metros with the most federal major disasters are Billings (5), Missoula (3) and Helena (2) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Montana, 275 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 Montana?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $110,320 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by elevator installer and plumber.
Which trade has the most jobs in Montana?
maintenance technicians, with about 5,420 jobs statewide, followed by construction laborers and construction supervisors.
Which Montana city pays the trades best?
Bozeman, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Billings.
Is construction hiring growing in Montana?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 4.2% from a year earlier in Billings, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and up 4.0% in Bozeman.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Montana 2026, payby.trade/report/mt/.”