Wages & Compensation
Trade Pay Score
A proprietary composite rating (0-100, graded A through F) that evaluates how well a trade pays relative to cost of living, growth, and demand.
What It Means for Trade Workers
The Trade Pay Score is a composite metric developed by TradeWages to give workers and career changers a single, comparable measure of how financially rewarding a particular trade is in a given metro area. Rather than looking at raw salary numbers alone, the Trade Pay Score weights four factors to produce a more complete picture. Median wage accounts for 35 percent of the score, reflecting the core earning power of the trade. Five-year wage growth contributes 25 percent, capturing whether pay is trending upward or stagnating. Job demand, measured by employment levels and projected openings, makes up 25 percent, because a high salary means little if jobs are scarce. Finally, cost-of-living-adjusted pay represents 15 percent, penalizing trades and metros where high nominal wages are eroded by expensive housing and living costs. The resulting score maps to letter grades: 85 and above earns an A, 70 to 84 is a B, 55 to 69 is a C, 40 to 54 is a D, and below 40 is an F. This scoring system lets workers compare an electrician in Houston to a plumber in Seattle on an apples-to-apples basis, accounting for real purchasing power rather than just the number on the paycheck.
Frequently Asked Questions
A proprietary composite rating (0-100, graded A through F) that evaluates how well a trade pays relative to cost of living, growth, and demand.
The Trade Pay Score is a composite metric developed by TradeWages to give workers and career changers a single, comparable measure of how financially rewarding a particular trade is in a given metro area. Rather than looking at raw salary numbers alone, the Trade Pay Score weights four factors to produce a more complete picture. Median wage accounts for 35 percent of the score, reflecting the core earning power of the trade.