What skilled trades pay in New Hampshire, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 39 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $102,170 median. For every trade and metro, start from the New Hampshire pay page.
How New Hampshire compares
31 of the 36 trades we track in New Hampshire pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for plasterer (+58%), telecom equipment installer (+37%) and telecom line installer (+30%), and the biggest gaps for ironworker (-6%) and concrete finisher (-5%). Prices in New Hampshire's metros run about 6% above the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,715 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in New Hampshire
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is landscaper at $44,890.
Every trade in New Hampshire
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
- Landscaper: 6,050 jobs
- Maintenance Technician: 5,780 jobs
- Auto Mechanic: 4,840 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 4,330 jobs
- Carpenter: 3,760 jobs
Construction hiring
- Manchester: +1.3% (8,797 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
8.9% of New Hampshire workers belong to a union (9.9% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in New Hampshire who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in carpenter (83%), HVAC technician (68%) and sheet metal worker (65%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 108 wage cases against construction employers in New Hampshire, recovering $1,784,979 in back wages for 853 workers.
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 138 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 55% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (3 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.
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In New Hampshire, 222 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 New Hampshire?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $102,170 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by plasterer and telecom line installer.
Which trade has the most jobs in New Hampshire?
landscapers, with about 6,050 jobs statewide, followed by maintenance technicians and auto mechanics.
Is construction hiring growing in New Hampshire?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 1.3% from a year earlier in Manchester, the fastest-changing large market in the state.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in New Hampshire 2026, payby.trade/report/nh/.”