Skilled Trades Wages in Houston, TX: What Employers Are Paying

Why Houston Trade Wages Run on a Different Engine

Your journeyman pipefitter just told you the competing shop down the street bumped their rate — again. You're pricing a project bid and need to know whether the $32/hr you've been offering is competitive, low, or actually generous for the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metro. The problem is that the national median tells you almost nothing useful here. Houston's labor market runs on petrochemical, LNG, refinery turnarounds, and Ship Channel industrial work in a way that no other major metro does — and it pulls trade wages, especially for welders and pipefitters, in directions that flat national figures can't capture.

This guide walks through what the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program publishes for the Houston metro, trade by trade, so you can price the next offer from data rather than instinct. Every figure here names its source and geography. Where the Houston-specific cell isn't available in our current verified-data library, we say so plainly and point you straight to bls.gov/oes to pull it yourself.

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What "Houston MSA" Actually Means for Wage Data

The BLS OEWS program publishes wages for the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) — a geography that covers Harris County and seven surrounding counties, including Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, and Galveston. When you pull a Houston figure from bls.gov/oes, that's the footprint you're pricing against.

A metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a BLS-defined labor-market geography built around a core urban area with strong economic ties to the surrounding counties. It's the right geographic level for benchmarking trade offers because it mirrors where your workers actually live, commute from, and compare competing offers — not the city limits, not the state.

The OEWS program covers 800+ detailed occupations across national, state, and metro geographies. Estimates are built from roughly 1.1 million establishments sampled over a three-year, six-panel cycle, giving you statistically robust local numbers rather than a state or national average smeared across geography that doesn't match your hiring pool.

One important limitation to know: BLS suppresses metro-level estimates when the sample for a specific occupation is too thin — typically when estimated employment in that cell falls below publication standards. For the major trade SOC codes in a metro the size of Houston, suppression is uncommon, but it can happen with narrower classifications (structural iron workers in a slow build cycle, for example). If you hit a suppressed cell at bls.gov/oes, fall back to the Texas state figure, note it in your band, and recheck next release cycle.

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Houston Skilled Trades Wages: The Metro Picture by Trade

Important: The figures below represent national BLS OEWS medians (May 2024) from our verified-data library, shown as your baseline anchor. Houston MSA figures — which can run meaningfully above or below national for industrial trades — must be confirmed directly at bls.gov/oes using the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land MSA selector. The Houston-specific cells are flagged for verification in this article's needs_verification field; once confirmed, the figures below should be replaced with the metro numbers and re-tagged with their release year and MSA geography.

For each trade we show the national anchor alongside the percentile structure you should look for when you pull the Houston MSA data. A percentile tells you where an annual wage falls in the full distribution of workers in that role: the 50th percentile (median) means half of workers earn more and half earn less; the 75th percentile means three out of four workers earn less than that figure — it's where you anchor an offer when you're trying to win a competitive hire and you can't afford another vacancy.

Electricians (SOC 47-2111)

National anchor (May 2024): median $62,350/yr; 10th percentile $39,430; 90th percentile $106,030. Source: BLS OOH, bls.gov/oes.

Houston context: The metro's industrial and commercial construction pipeline — data centers, petrochemical expansion, port infrastructure — keeps licensed journeyman electrician demand elevated. Expect the Houston MSA median to sit above or near the national figure, with 75th- and 90th-percentile earners reflecting industrial premium pay. Pull the verified Houston number at bls.gov/oes before building your offer band.

For the full national breakdown and methodology, see our electrician salary guide.

Plumbers, Pipefitters & Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152)

National anchor (May 2024): median $62,970/yr ($30.27/hr). Source: BLS OOH, bls.gov/oes.

Note on provenance: BLS OEWS publishes a single wage series for SOC 47-2152, which covers plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters together. You will see one Houston MSA median for this combined group — not separate figures for each specialty. The O*NET occupational profile distinguishes the work (industrial pipefitting differs significantly from residential plumbing in tasks and knowledge requirements), but the wage row does not.

Houston context: This is the trade where Houston's labor market most visibly diverges from the national picture. The concentration of LNG terminals, refineries, and petrochemical complexes along the Ship Channel creates sustained demand for journeyman and foreman-level pipefitters at industrial pay scales. The Houston MSA 75th- and 90th-percentile figures for this SOC code are where you'll feel the industrial premium most clearly. If your firm works refinery turnarounds or EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) subcontracts, pricing at the national median alone will cost you candidates. See our pipefitter salary guide for the national percentile breakdown and band methodology.

HVAC Mechanics & Installers (SOC 49-9021)

National anchor (May 2024): median $59,810/yr; 10th percentile $39,130; 90th percentile $91,020. Source: BLS OOH, bls.gov/oes.

Houston context: Humidity, long cooling seasons, and a large commercial building stock drive HVAC demand year-round in ways that differ from northern metros. The metro's HVAC labor market tends to track closely to the Texas state figure; confirm the Houston MSA cell at bls.gov/oes and compare it to the national anchor to size any regional adjustment in your salary band.

Welders, Cutters, Solderers & Brazers (SOC 51-4121)

National anchor (May 2024): median $51,000/yr; 10th percentile $38,130; 90th percentile $75,850. Source: BLS OOH, bls.gov/oes.

Houston context: Like pipefitters, welders in the Houston metro benefit from the industrial base. Certified welders with specific process qualifications (6G pipe, specialty alloys) command rates that can run well above the national median, and the Houston MSA distribution likely reflects that. The gap between a general structural welder and a certified pipe welder on an industrial turnaround crew is significant — the OEWS series captures the blended distribution, so pay close attention to the 75th and 90th percentiles when you pull the Houston figure. Our welder salary guide covers how to anchor your band when your workforce spans skill tiers.

Carpenters (SOC 47-2031)

National anchor (May 2024): median $59,310/yr ($28.51/hr). Source: BLS OOH, bls.gov/oes.

Houston context: Residential and commercial framing activity in the metro's growth corridors (The Woodlands, Katy, Pearland, Sugar Land) keeps carpenter demand active. The Houston MSA figure tends to reflect a broad mix of residential, commercial, and finish work — pull and compare to the national anchor to size your local adjustment.

Sheet Metal Workers (SOC 47-2211)

National anchor (May 2024): median $60,850/yr ($29.26/hr). Source: BLS OOH, bls.gov/oes.

Houston context: Industrial HVAC and duct fabrication for commercial and petrochemical facilities creates steady sheet metal demand. Confirm the Houston MSA figure at bls.gov/oes; if the cell is suppressed, use the Texas state figure as your fallback anchor and note it in your band documentation.

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How to Build a Houston Salary Band from These Numbers

Once you have the verified Houston MSA percentiles in hand, the process is the same for every trade. Here's a worked example anchored on the national electrician median ($62,350, May 2024) — swap in the Houston MSA median when you've confirmed it at bls.gov/oes.

Step 1 — Pick your percentile anchor. If you're replacing a mid-level journeyman in a competitive market, anchor at the 50th percentile (median). If you're trying to recruit someone away from a competitor or fill a vacancy that's been open more than a few weeks, anchor at the 75th percentile. The 75th percentile means three out of four workers in that role and area earn less — it's your "win the hire" rate.

Step 2 — Set a spread buffer. A standard salary band has a minimum, a midpoint, and a maximum. A common practice is to set the band minimum at roughly 80–85% of the midpoint and the maximum at 115–120%. This gives you room to bring someone in below midpoint when they're new to the role and grow them through the band.

Worked example (for illustration — use your verified Houston MSA number):

• Midpoint anchor (national May 2024 median): $62,350
• Band minimum (83% of midpoint): ≈ $51,750
• Band maximum (117% of midpoint): ≈ $72,950

That's your min/mid/max structure. When the Houston MSA median comes in higher — say the verified figure is $68,000 — you rebuild the band from $68,000 as your midpoint. The method is the same; only the anchor changes.

Step 3 — Sanity-check against the percentile spread. Compare your band max to the published 75th percentile. If your max sits below the 75th percentile for the Houston metro, experienced candidates will see your top rate as below-market. That's a signal to shift your anchor up, not to lower your standards.

For a deeper look at how the band generator works across Texas metros, see our Texas skilled trades wages guide and compare with Dallas–Fort Worth metro wages.

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Houston vs. the National Benchmark: Why the Gap Matters

The national BLS OEWS median is computed from a sample of roughly 1.1 million establishments across the entire country (Source: BLS OEWS technical documentation, bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm). It includes rural counties, slow-growth metros, and markets with little industrial activity. For a firm hiring in the Houston Ship Channel corridor, the national median is a floor, not a target.

That gap — between what the raw national number says and what the Houston market actually requires — is exactly where mis-priced offers happen. A contractor who benchmarks to the national median and calls it done will find that candidates in the 75th-percentile range simply go elsewhere. Trade roles are taking longer to fill across the country, and in a high-demand metro like Houston, that window between "offer extended" and "offer declined" closes fast.

The construction and extraction sector added net new jobs at a pace well above the economy-wide average in the most recent BLS employment projections, and the industry-wide outlook calls for recruiting a substantial number of net new workers through mid-decade (ABC, abc.org). In Houston, that pressure is compounded by the industrial maintenance and turnaround cycle, which pulls from the same certified-trade labor pool that your commercial construction clients also need.

For a broader view of how industrial maintenance benchmarking differs from standard construction trade benchmarking, see our industrial maintenance wage benchmarking guide.

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Getting the Live Houston Number Right Now

The verified Houston MSA figures for this article are flagged for confirmation at bls.gov/oes — the research note at the top of each trade section explains exactly what to pull. Here's the fastest path:

1. Go to bls.gov/oes.
2. Under "Area," select Metropolitan Statistical Areas, then choose Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, TX.
3. Under "Industry," select Cross-industry (to see all employers, not just one NAICS sector).
4. Find your SOC code (e.g., 47-2152 for plumbers/pipefitters/steamfitters).
5. Record the 10th, 25th, median, 75th, and 90th percentile annual wage figures, along with the release year (currently May 2024; confirm whether the May 2025 release is live).

That's your anchor. Everything else — band structure, spread buffer, internal equity review — is methodology you own.

If you want those steps handled automatically across every trade you hire for, with percentile tables pre-built for your metro and a salary band generator that converts them into an offer-ready min/midpoint/max, take a look at what SkilledMarkets does on our features page or start a 14-day free trial — no credit card required, no free tier to outgrow.

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This article includes information from O*NET OnLine, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. O*NET is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.