Skilled trades in Georgia, ranked by pay
Of the 15 trades tracked here, the best paid in Georgia is elevator installers at a median $83,500 a year. Across the 14 with a published employment count, 204,970 people are employed in Georgia. Each row links to the full wage spread for that trade in the state.
| # | Trade | Median annual | Median hourly | 10th–90th | Employed | vs US | State rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elevator installers | $83,500 | $40.14 | $34,270 – $124,320 | 640 | 24% below | #32 of 37 |
| 2 | Lineworkers (power-line installers) | $80,080 | $38.50 | $50,440 – $116,900 | 4,960 | 16% below | #41 of 51 |
| 3 | Diesel mechanics | $61,370 | $29.50 | $45,890 – $85,260 | 10,910 | 1% below | #26 of 51 |
| 4 | Electricians | $58,320 | $28.04 | $37,180 – $84,000 | 21,650 | 8% below | #47 of 51 |
| 5 | Plumbers and pipefitters | $57,200 | $27.50 | $37,680 – $80,740 | 8,930 | 10% below | #43 of 51 |
| 6 | Truck drivers (CDL) | $57,050 | $27.43 | $38,150 – $77,900 | 74,840 | 3% below | #36 of 51 |
| 7 | Sheet metal workers | $56,800 | $27.31 | $38,820 – $76,900 | 3,590 | 8% below | #36 of 50 |
| 8 | HVAC technicians | $56,390 | $27.11 | $36,990 – $79,130 | 12,290 | 8% below | #43 of 51 |
| 9 | Machinists | $52,610 | $25.29 | $37,060 – $77,420 | 6,090 | 10% below | #44 of 51 |
| 10 | Brickmasons and blockmasons | $50,650 | $24.35 | $34,600 – $74,450 | not published | 18% below | #42 of 50 |
| 11 | Carpenters | $49,350 | $23.72 | $34,890 – $63,470 | 9,190 | 19% below | #43 of 51 |
| 12 | Auto service technicians | $49,060 | $23.59 | $33,580 – $84,360 | 22,070 | 3% below | #34 of 51 |
| 13 | Welders | $48,430 | $23.28 | $38,030 – $65,160 | 13,130 | 10% below | #49 of 51 |
| 14 | Ironworkers | $48,090 | $23.12 | $38,370 – $70,680 | 980 | 23% below | #47 of 50 |
| 15 | Heavy equipment operators | $47,880 | $23.02 | $37,810 – $62,840 | 15,700 | 20% below | #48 of 51 |
"State rank" is where Georgia places on median pay for that trade among the states and DC with a published median; a low number means the state pays well for it. "vs US" compares the Georgia median with the national median for the same trade.
How to get licensed in Georgia: How to become an electrician in Georgia · How to become a plumber in Georgia · How to become a truck driver in Georgia · How to become an HVAC technician in Georgia. Each page says who licenses the work and what each license takes, with its exam and its fee where published.
Apprenticeships in Georgia
Registered apprentices in Georgia in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024), under the occupation titles the U.S. Department of Labor maps to each trade, with the median wage apprentices started at and the median at completion in fiscal 2023. A median is shown only where 50 or more apprentices carry the wage. The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024.
| Trade | Active, fiscal 2024 | Started, fiscal 2023 | Median starting wage | Median completing wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 3,060 | 1,128 | $15.00 | $25.39 |
| Auto service technicians | 976 | 319 | $10.00 | fewer than 50 wages |
| Plumbers and pipefitters | 771 | 313 | $16.45 | $35.08 |
| Carpenters | 418 | 173 | $16.90 | fewer than 50 wages |
| Truck drivers (CDL) | 366 | 514 | $12.87 | $21.23 |
| Lineworkers (power-line installers) | 331 | 145 | $22.00 | fewer than 50 wages |
| Sheet metal workers | 234 | 91 | $17.34 | $34.14 |
| HVAC technicians | 212 | 92 | $16.45 | fewer than 50 wages |
| Ironworkers | 166 | 126 | $17.66 | fewer than 50 wages |
| Elevator installers | 156 | 73 | $23.87 | fewer than 50 wages |
| Machinists | 53 | 15 | fewer than 50 wages | fewer than 50 wages |
| Heavy equipment operators | 47 | 24 | fewer than 50 wages | fewer than 50 wages |
| Welders | 19 | 14 | fewer than 50 wages | fewer than 50 wages |
| Diesel mechanics | 9 | 3 | fewer than 50 wages | fewer than 50 wages |
| Brickmasons and blockmasons | 3 | 2 | fewer than 50 wages | fewer than 50 wages |
Hourly wages, in the dollars of fiscal 2023; the starters and the completers are different people. Each trade links to its count and wages in every state. What a wage comes to a week and a year, at your hours →
Which of these to consider in Georgia
Pay is one input, not the answer. A trade that pays a little less but employs far more people in Georgia can be the easier one to get hired and stay hired in. Weigh the median against the employment column, and against the training time and licensing each trade demands. Open a trade to see its full percentile spread and how Georgia ranks against every other state.
Full detail by trade
Elevator installers in Georgia · Lineworkers (power-line installers) in Georgia · Diesel mechanics in Georgia · Electricians in Georgia · Plumbers and pipefitters in Georgia · Truck drivers (CDL) in Georgia · Sheet metal workers in Georgia · HVAC technicians in Georgia · Machinists in Georgia · Brickmasons and blockmasons in Georgia · Carpenters in Georgia · Auto service technicians in Georgia · Welders in Georgia · Ironworkers in Georgia · Heavy equipment operators in Georgia
Or compare these trades nationally on the trade ranking, or pick another state from the state list.
Licensing is sourced in Georgia for electricians, plumbers, truck drivers, and HVAC technicians; each of those pages carries the licensing rules, with the pages they were read from and the date each was read. Every trade page also gives pay by metro area where BLS publishes it and the registered-apprentice count where the U.S. Department of Labor lists an active apprentice. The pay and employment figures here are the May 2025 BLS estimates; see how the numbers are built.