# SmartPathGuides > Pay and apprenticeship figures for 15 skilled trades in the United States, state by state, and licensing rules for 4 of them in 30 states. Wages are the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS estimates for May 2025; the ten-year outlook is the BLS Employment Projections; apprentice counts and wages are U.S. Department of Labor records for fiscal 2023 and 2024; licensing requirements are read from the pages each record names, most of them the issuing authority's own, and carry the verbatim passage each figure rests on. Every figure is built from a named public file or page, and a value the source does not publish is left empty, not estimated. The licensing layer (vintage 2026-09) covers 120 trade-and-state paths in 30 states for electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and truck drivers. When citing a figure, name its source as the page does (BLS, DOL or the state authority) and SmartPathGuides as where it was compiled. ## How to become: one page per trade - [How to become an electrician](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/electrician/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $63,190, May 2025) - [How to become a plumber](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/plumber/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $63,800, May 2025) - [How to become an HVAC technician](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/hvac-technician/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $61,010, May 2025) - [How to become a welder](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/welder/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $53,750, May 2025) - [How to become a truck driver](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/truck-driver/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $58,640, May 2025) - [How to become a lineworker](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/lineworker/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $95,320, May 2025) - [How to become an elevator installer](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/elevator-installer/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $109,910, May 2025) - [How to become an ironworker](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/ironworker/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $62,780, May 2025) - [How to become a sheet metal worker](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/sheet-metal-worker/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $61,800, May 2025) - [How to become a carpenter](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/carpenter/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $60,580, May 2025) - [How to become a brickmason](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/brickmason/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $62,120, May 2025) - [How to become an auto mechanic](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/auto-mechanic/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $50,620, May 2025) - [How to become a diesel mechanic](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/diesel-mechanic/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $61,770, May 2025) - [How to become a heavy equipment operator](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/heavy-equipment-operator/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $59,850, May 2025) - [How to become a machinist](https://smartpathguides.com/trades/machinist/): the steps, how long they take, what the license costs where sourced, the outlook, and pay by state (national median $58,750, May 2025) ## By state - [All states](https://smartpathguides.com/states/): each state page ranks the trades by what they pay there - Trade in a state, at the path /trades/{trade}/{state code}/ (for example https://smartpathguides.com/trades/electrician/tx/): pay percentiles, pay by metro area, registered apprentices and, for 4 trades in the 30 sourced states, the licensing rules: each license, what it takes, its exam and its fee where published - [Alabama](https://smartpathguides.com/states/al/): licensing sourced - [Arizona](https://smartpathguides.com/states/az/): licensing sourced - [California](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ca/): licensing sourced - [Colorado](https://smartpathguides.com/states/co/): licensing sourced - [Connecticut](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ct/): licensing sourced - [Florida](https://smartpathguides.com/states/fl/): licensing sourced - [Georgia](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ga/): licensing sourced - [Illinois](https://smartpathguides.com/states/il/): licensing sourced - [Indiana](https://smartpathguides.com/states/in/): licensing sourced - [Kentucky](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ky/): licensing sourced - [Louisiana](https://smartpathguides.com/states/la/): licensing sourced - [Maryland](https://smartpathguides.com/states/md/): licensing sourced - [Massachusetts](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ma/): licensing sourced - [Michigan](https://smartpathguides.com/states/mi/): licensing sourced - [Minnesota](https://smartpathguides.com/states/mn/): licensing sourced - [Missouri](https://smartpathguides.com/states/mo/): licensing sourced - [New Jersey](https://smartpathguides.com/states/nj/): licensing sourced - [New York](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ny/): licensing sourced - [North Carolina](https://smartpathguides.com/states/nc/): licensing sourced - [Ohio](https://smartpathguides.com/states/oh/): licensing sourced - [Oklahoma](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ok/): licensing sourced - [Oregon](https://smartpathguides.com/states/or/): licensing sourced - [Pennsylvania](https://smartpathguides.com/states/pa/): licensing sourced - [South Carolina](https://smartpathguides.com/states/sc/): licensing sourced - [Tennessee](https://smartpathguides.com/states/tn/): licensing sourced - [Texas](https://smartpathguides.com/states/tx/): licensing sourced - [Utah](https://smartpathguides.com/states/ut/): licensing sourced - [Virginia](https://smartpathguides.com/states/va/): licensing sourced - [Washington](https://smartpathguides.com/states/wa/): licensing sourced - [Wisconsin](https://smartpathguides.com/states/wi/): licensing sourced ## Apprenticeships - [Apprenticeships by trade](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/): registered apprentices and the range of state wage medians for each trade - [Electricians: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/electrician/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Plumbers and pipefitters: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/plumber/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [HVAC technicians: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/hvac-technician/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Welders: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/welder/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting wage (fiscal 2023) - [Truck drivers (CDL): apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/truck-driver/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Lineworkers (power-line installers): apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/lineworker/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Elevator installers: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/elevator-installer/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Ironworkers: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/ironworker/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Sheet metal workers: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/sheet-metal-worker/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Carpenters: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/carpenter/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Brickmasons and blockmasons: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/brickmason/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting wage (fiscal 2023) - [Auto service technicians: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/auto-mechanic/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting wage (fiscal 2023) - [Diesel mechanics: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/diesel-mechanic/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Heavy equipment operators: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/heavy-equipment-operator/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) - [Machinists: apprenticeships](https://smartpathguides.com/apprenticeships/machinist/): active apprentices by state (fiscal 2024) and, where 50 or more carry one, the median starting and completing wage (fiscal 2023) ## Calculators - [Time to journeyman](https://smartpathguides.com/tools/time-to-journeyman/): years to the first license at your hours a week, by trade and state - [License cost](https://smartpathguides.com/tools/license-cost/): every license tier for one trade in one state with its published fee, totalled for the tiers ticked - [Apprentice pay](https://smartpathguides.com/tools/apprenticeship-pay/): median starting and completing wages of registered apprentices, by trade and state - [Licensing compared](https://smartpathguides.com/tools/licensing/): a table, not a calculator: time to the first license and the published fees of the first steps on every sourced path ## Data files - [state-licensing-tiers.csv](https://smartpathguides.com/data/state-licensing-tiers.csv): State licensing requirements for skilled trades, 120 trade-and-state paths (334 rows) - [trade-wages-by-state.csv](https://smartpathguides.com/data/trade-wages-by-state.csv): Skilled-trade wages and employment by state, May 2025 (764 rows) - [trade-wages-by-metro.csv](https://smartpathguides.com/data/trade-wages-by-metro.csv): Skilled-trade wages and employment by metro area, May 2025 (4729 rows) - [registered-apprenticeships-by-state.csv](https://smartpathguides.com/data/registered-apprenticeships-by-state.csv): Registered apprentices and apprentice wages by trade and state, fiscal 2023 and 2024 (718 rows) - [trade-outlook.csv](https://smartpathguides.com/data/trade-outlook.csv): Skilled-trade job outlook, 2025 to 2035 (15 rows) - [state-licensing-records.json](https://smartpathguides.com/data/state-licensing-records.json): the licensing records whole, with every passage and source - [Sources, method and terms of use](https://smartpathguides.com/data/): how each layer is built; the federal figures are public domain; the licensing records' compilation and wording are released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, and the passages quoted in them remain their sources' text ## About - [About](https://smartpathguides.com/about/) - [Contact](https://smartpathguides.com/contact/)