What skilled trades pay in Oregon, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 39 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is elevator installer at a $138,600 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Oregon pay page.
How Oregon compares
39 of the 42 trades we track in Oregon pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for rebar worker (+64%), electrician (+62%) and plumber (+58%), and the biggest gaps for telecom line installer (-9%) and fence installer (-8%). Prices in Oregon's metros run about 3% above the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,326 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Oregon
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is fence installer at $44,580.
Every trade in Oregon
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: 16,160 jobs
- Carpenter: 15,110 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 12,620 jobs
- Landscaper: 11,870 jobs
- Electrician: 10,590 jobs
Oregon metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Bend: -0.5% (8,338 workers)
- Eugene: -2.6% (6,857 workers)
- Salem: -5.0% (11,679 workers)
- Portland: -5.2% (54,497 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
15.1% of Oregon workers belong to a union (16.9% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Oregon who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in machinist (82%), elevator installer (75%) and glazier (72%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 122 wage cases against construction employers in Oregon, recovering $2,224,825 in back wages for 977 workers.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, cases concluded 2018–2026. Counts only; employers aren't named here.
Safety inspections
In 2025, Oregon's state-run safety program and federal OSHA opened 1,199 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 39% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (49 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 Oregon metros with the most federal major disasters are Portland (15), Albany (6) and Eugene (6) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Oregon, 251 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 Oregon?
Elevator Installer pays the most of the trades we track, with a $138,600 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by electrical lineworker and construction supervisor.
Which trade has the most jobs in Oregon?
maintenance technicians, with about 16,160 jobs statewide, followed by carpenters and construction laborers.
Which Oregon city pays the trades best?
Portland, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Bend.
Is construction hiring growing in Oregon?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were down 0.5% from a year earlier in Bend, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and down 5.2% in Portland.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Oregon 2026, payby.trade/report/or/.”