What skilled trades pay in Pennsylvania, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 37 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is elevator installer at a $117,250 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Pennsylvania pay page.
How Pennsylvania compares
35 of the 42 trades we track in Pennsylvania pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for tile setter (+39%), rebar worker (+31%) and ironworker (+30%), and the biggest gaps for solar installer (-18%) and wind turbine technician (-4%). Prices in Pennsylvania's metros run about 5% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,088 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Pennsylvania
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is landscaper at $39,500.
Every trade in Pennsylvania
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: 55,590 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 35,920 jobs
- Landscaper: 34,850 jobs
- Carpenter: 30,630 jobs
- Auto Mechanic: 29,400 jobs
Pennsylvania metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Reading: +6.6% (7,900 workers)
- Lancaster: +3.3% (19,681 workers)
- Harrisburg: +2.5% (12,245 workers)
- Scranton: +1.8% (9,152 workers)
- York: +1.3% (11,519 workers)
- Pittsburgh: +0.9% (53,083 workers)
- Allentown: +0.3% (10,951 workers)
- Philadelphia: -0.5% (114,661 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
10.9% of Pennsylvania workers belong to a union (11.7% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Pennsylvania who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in elevator installer (87%), telecom equipment installer (86%) and industrial machinery mechanic (82%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 382 wage cases against construction employers in Pennsylvania, recovering $4,633,683 in back wages for 3,873 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 1,209 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 40% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (15 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 Pennsylvania metros with the most federal major disasters are Philadelphia (9), Allentown (7) and Scranton (3) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Pennsylvania, 818 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 Pennsylvania?
Elevator Installer pays the most of the trades we track, with a $117,250 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by electrical lineworker and ironworker.
Which trade has the most jobs in Pennsylvania?
maintenance technicians, with about 55,590 jobs statewide, followed by construction laborers and landscapers.
Which Pennsylvania city pays the trades best?
Philadelphia, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Allentown.
Is construction hiring growing in Pennsylvania?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 6.6% from a year earlier in Reading, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and down 0.5% in Philadelphia.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Pennsylvania 2026, payby.trade/report/pa/.”