What skilled trades pay in Utah, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 37 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $101,220 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Utah pay page.
How Utah compares
17 of the 41 trades we track in Utah pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for rigger (+55%), welder (+12%) and industrial machinery mechanic (+11%), and the biggest gaps for elevator installer (-25%) and insulation installer (-17%). Prices in Utah's metros run about 2% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,251 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Utah
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is insulation installer at $40,080.
Every trade in Utah
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
- Construction Laborer: 20,950 jobs
- Maintenance Technician: 16,090 jobs
- Carpenter: 15,220 jobs
- Construction Supervisor: 14,270 jobs
- Landscaper: 12,850 jobs
Utah metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Provo: +1.2% (30,924 workers)
- St. George: +0.9% (10,509 workers)
- Ogden: +0.2% (21,549 workers)
- Salt Lake City: -1.8% (55,650 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
3.8% of Utah workers belong to a union (7.8% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Utah who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in glazier (85%), telecom line installer (83%) and welder (80%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 354 wage cases against construction employers in Utah, recovering $4,071,705 in back wages for 2,193 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, Utah's state-run safety program and federal OSHA opened 249 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 89% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (98 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 Utah metros with the most federal major disasters are Ogden (3), Logan (2) and Salt Lake City (2) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Utah, 233 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 Utah?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $101,220 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by rigger and elevator installer.
Which trade has the most jobs in Utah?
construction laborers, with about 20,950 jobs statewide, followed by maintenance technicians and carpenters.
Which Utah city pays the trades best?
Salt Lake City, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Ogden.
Is construction hiring growing in Utah?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 1.2% from a year earlier in Provo, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and down 1.8% in Salt Lake City.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Utah 2026, payby.trade/report/ut/.”