Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Skilled Trade Salaries in North Carolina
Skilled-trade workers in North Carolina earn an average median wage of $58,171 across 42 trades and 2 BLS-tracked metros, based on 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The top-paying trade in the state is Construction Manager at $108,620.
See full North Carolina trade rankings →How North Carolina Compares Nationally
North Carolina runs 11% below the U.S. trade-wage average, with metros there averaging $58,171 across the tracked trades. Lower nominal pay frequently translates into stronger purchasing power once cost of living is factored in — affordable housing and lower service-sector costs mean a journeyman wage often goes further here than the headline number suggests.
The highest-paying trade in North Carolina is Construction Manager at a median $108,620, followed by Elevator Mechanic at $105,610. The gap between the top two trades — $3,010 — is a useful gauge of how concentrated the state's high-pay opportunities are. A wide gap means a single specialized trade dominates the top of the market; a narrow gap signals broad-based wage strength across multiple skilled occupations.
North Carolina has 2 metropolitan statistical areas tracked in BLS OEWS data. Pay can vary meaningfully across them — coastal or capital-region metros usually run higher than secondary cities — so it is worth comparing the city-level pages rather than relying on the state aggregate alone.
North Carolina Metro Areas
Trade Salaries in North Carolina
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every wage figure on this page comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, published annually at bls.gov/oes. State-level figures aggregate the metropolitan readings across North Carolina's 2 tracked metros, weighted equally per metro to avoid over-counting any single labor market. The Trade Pay Score combines raw median pay (30%), 5-year wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%); for the full composite see the methodology page.
Career outlook detail — projected employment growth, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship program listings for North Carolina are maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average skilled-trade wage in North Carolina?
Across 42 skilled trades and 2 BLS-tracked metros, North Carolina posts an average median wage of $58,171 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data. Pay varies substantially by trade — from $41,880 (Locksmith) at the low end to $108,620 (Construction Manager) at the top.
Which trade pays the most in North Carolina?
Construction Manager is the highest-paying trade in North Carolina, with a state-wide median wage of $108,620 across 2 tracked metros. The next-best is Elevator Mechanic at $105,610. Both reflect demand patterns specific to the state's economy — see the per-trade pages for city-level detail.
Are union or non-union trades better paid in North Carolina?
BLS OEWS does not split wages by union status, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes separate union-membership and earnings data at https://www.bls.gov/cps/. In broad terms, union trades pay 8-39% more than non-union counterparts in the same trade and metro, with the largest premiums in electrical, mechanical, and ironwork. State-level union density varies — northeastern and Pacific states typically run highest.
Where can I find apprenticeships in North Carolina?
Registered apprenticeship programs in North Carolina are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/, which lets you filter by state and occupation. Most skilled trades require 3-5 years of registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay; the apprenticeship pages on TradeWages list year-by-year pay progression as a percentage of journeyman scale.
How does the cost of living affect trade pay in North Carolina?
Cost of living shifts substantially across North Carolina's metros — the difference between the cheapest and most expensive tracked metro can be 20% or more. The Trade Pay Score on each city page weights cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power at 20% of the composite, so a trade with strong nominal pay in an expensive metro can still earn a lower grade than a more affordable metro with mid-range nominal wages.
Skilled-trade workers in North Carolina earn an average median wage of $58,171 across 42 trades and 2 BLS-tracked metros, based on 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The top-paying trade in the state is Construction Manager at $108,620.
The this entity record above pulls directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. skilled-trade wage data distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. trades, cities, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.