What skilled trades pay in Ohio, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 37 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is elevator installer at a $105,020 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Ohio pay page.
How Ohio compares
26 of the 41 trades we track in Ohio pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for sheet metal worker (+22%), insulation installer (+21%) and paving equipment operator (+21%), and the biggest gaps for pest control technician (-10%) and tile setter (-9%). Prices in Ohio's metros run about 9% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $926 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Ohio
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is landscaper at $38,220.
Every trade in Ohio
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: 64,770 jobs
- Landscaper: 34,420 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 31,910 jobs
- Electrician: 28,950 jobs
- Construction Supervisor: 23,640 jobs
Ohio metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Columbus: +5.3% (54,320 workers)
- Canton: +4.5% (8,751 workers)
- Toledo: +2.8% (13,978 workers)
- Akron: +2.8% (14,451 workers)
- Cleveland: +1.7% (30,546 workers)
- Dayton: +0.2% (10,642 workers)
- Youngstown: -1.0% (7,034 workers)
- Cincinnati: -1.1% (42,718 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
11.6% of Ohio workers belong to a union (12.8% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Ohio who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in electrical lineworker (78%), industrial machinery mechanic (71%) and telecom line installer (69%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 261 wage cases against construction employers in Ohio, recovering $1,998,438 in back wages for 1,945 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 890 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 29% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (13 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 Ohio metros with the most federal major disasters are Cincinnati (11), Columbus (5) and Dayton (2) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Ohio, 469 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 Ohio?
Elevator Installer pays the most of the trades we track, with a $105,020 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by electrical lineworker and construction supervisor.
Which trade has the most jobs in Ohio?
maintenance technicians, with about 64,770 jobs statewide, followed by landscapers and construction laborers.
Which Ohio city pays the trades best?
Columbus, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Toledo.
Is construction hiring growing in Ohio?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 5.3% from a year earlier in Columbus, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and down 1.1% in Cincinnati.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Ohio 2026, payby.trade/report/oh/.”