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Staff wages are the largest line in most service-business budgets, and they vary sharply by
state. The table below shows the median hourly wage in every state for the ten
occupations behind the businesses we cover — from childcare workers to HVAC techs to tree
trimmers — straight from the federal wage survey. Read it two ways: what you would
pay staff as an owner in that state, or what you would earn
working in the trade before going out on your own. Each state links to our guide to starting a
business there.
Where each trade pays most — and least
- Childcare Workers: highest in District of Columbia ($22.76/hr), lowest in Mississippi ($10.60/hr).
- Maids & Housekeeping Cleaners: highest in Hawaii ($24.81/hr), lowest in Mississippi ($12.19/hr).
- Janitors & Cleaners, Except Maids & Housekeeping Cleaners: highest in Massachusetts ($21.91/hr), lowest in Mississippi ($13.64/hr).
- Cooks, Restaurant: highest in Washington ($22.50/hr), lowest in Louisiana ($13.97/hr).
- Hairdressers, Hairstylists, & Cosmetologists: highest in Washington ($28.61/hr), lowest in Louisiana ($12.51/hr) (no published figure in 1 state).
- Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers: highest in District of Columbia ($23.46/hr), lowest in Mississippi ($15.21/hr).
- Tree Trimmers & Pruners: highest in Minnesota ($37.24/hr), lowest in Nebraska ($18.94/hr) (no published figure in 2 states).
- HVAC Mechanics & Installers: highest in District of Columbia ($40.57/hr), lowest in Arkansas ($23.13/hr).
- Massage Therapists: highest in Alaska ($64.87/hr), lowest in Louisiana ($17.54/hr) (no published figure in 1 state).
- Private Detectives & Investigators: highest in Oregon ($36.77/hr), lowest in Mississippi ($18.78/hr) (no published figure in 2 states).
Median hourly wages, all 50 states and D.C.
| State | Childcare | Maids & housekeeping | Janitors | Restaurant cooks | Hairdressers & cosmetologists | Landscaping | Tree trimmers | HVAC techs | Massage therapists | Private investigators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $10.92 | $13.21 | $14.72 | $15.47 | $14.02 | $17.13 | $19.95 | $23.26 | $23.52 | $22.50 |
| Alaska | $17.40 | $17.97 | $19.48 | $19.30 | $15.46 | $22.93 | — | $37.23 | $64.87 | $25.69 |
| Arizona | $16.88 | $17.13 | $17.42 | $18.59 | $17.70 | $18.71 | $24.36 | $28.56 | $30.00 | $29.34 |
| Arkansas | $13.68 | $13.44 | $14.30 | $14.51 | $13.86 | $17.20 | $21.95 | $23.13 | $19.23 | $22.96 |
| California | $19.24 | $20.51 | $19.75 | $21.58 | $18.59 | $21.90 | $30.07 | $34.88 | $22.10 | $29.45 |
| Colorado | $19.59 | $18.06 | $18.56 | $20.00 | $18.12 | $22.00 | $24.71 | $31.35 | $29.36 | $23.43 |
| Connecticut | $17.63 | $17.39 | $18.25 | $18.98 | $21.45 | $21.99 | $23.52 | $36.83 | $29.93 | $36.06 |
| Delaware | $15.97 | $16.42 | $16.98 | $18.19 | $16.51 | $17.96 | $23.72 | $29.96 | $28.30 | $26.78 |
| District of Columbia | $22.76 | $20.32 | $18.52 | $22.18 | $26.23 | $23.46 | — | $40.57 | $30.82 | $34.96 |
| Florida | $16.45 | $16.28 | $16.58 | $17.80 | $14.20 | $17.84 | $22.15 | $27.24 | $23.88 | $24.35 |
| Georgia | $13.47 | $14.31 | $16.50 | $17.28 | $16.62 | $18.25 | $22.55 | $27.11 | $24.43 | $21.66 |
| Hawaii | $17.80 | $24.81 | $18.13 | $21.84 | $16.85 | $22.08 | $27.40 | $31.47 | $39.08 | $21.99 |
| Idaho | $14.50 | $16.62 | $17.36 | $17.52 | $17.06 | $20.00 | $21.08 | $27.04 | $29.05 | $23.03 |
| Illinois | $17.23 | $17.49 | $18.18 | $18.07 | $16.37 | $21.05 | $30.99 | $37.21 | $29.08 | $28.95 |
| Indiana | $14.51 | $15.11 | $17.53 | $16.91 | $15.78 | $18.30 | $22.14 | $29.05 | $26.72 | $20.11 |
| Iowa | $13.66 | $15.68 | $17.01 | $17.15 | $17.17 | $18.71 | $20.62 | $29.17 | $27.75 | $19.77 |
| Kansas | $14.06 | $14.95 | $16.58 | $16.89 | $14.28 | $18.91 | $23.27 | $29.07 | $24.03 | $21.76 |
| Kentucky | $13.90 | $14.85 | $15.54 | $16.65 | $14.35 | $17.63 | $21.35 | $28.18 | $28.75 | $22.91 |
| Louisiana | $11.01 | $12.79 | $13.91 | $13.97 | $12.51 | $16.76 | $22.77 | $28.20 | $17.54 | $20.17 |
| Maine | $17.47 | $18.09 | $18.72 | $21.78 | $21.16 | $22.10 | $22.32 | $30.37 | $35.23 | $21.07 |
| Maryland | $17.32 | $17.07 | $17.61 | $18.19 | $17.51 | $18.93 | $22.70 | $33.67 | $29.94 | — |
| Massachusetts | $19.66 | $18.73 | $21.91 | $21.92 | $17.93 | $23.40 | $30.07 | $37.16 | $30.48 | $24.15 |
| Michigan | $14.89 | $16.66 | $17.33 | $17.78 | $16.74 | $18.33 | $27.67 | $29.26 | $34.11 | $23.39 |
| Minnesota | $17.08 | $18.01 | $19.04 | $18.55 | $18.83 | $22.41 | $37.24 | $36.71 | $30.32 | $27.83 |
| Mississippi | $10.60 | $12.19 | $13.64 | $14.21 | $13.25 | $15.21 | $19.98 | $23.41 | $19.47 | $18.78 |
| Missouri | $14.80 | $16.19 | $17.26 | $17.76 | $14.78 | $18.52 | $29.40 | $28.82 | $29.83 | $20.00 |
| Montana | $16.89 | $17.18 | $17.84 | $18.30 | $18.27 | $21.80 | $28.65 | $29.26 | $25.74 | $22.80 |
| Nebraska | $14.78 | $16.43 | $17.26 | $17.81 | $16.50 | $18.82 | $18.94 | $28.77 | $25.94 | $24.88 |
| Nevada | $14.30 | $22.38 | $18.47 | $18.56 | $16.27 | $18.66 | $24.62 | $29.09 | $25.74 | — |
| New Hampshire | $17.83 | $17.75 | $18.82 | $19.33 | $16.66 | $21.58 | $28.68 | $35.51 | $38.63 | $31.43 |
| New Jersey | $17.49 | $18.26 | $18.09 | $18.49 | $17.38 | $19.88 | $34.59 | $35.79 | $24.11 | $26.31 |
| New Mexico | $17.23 | $14.65 | $17.32 | $16.84 | $18.15 | $18.06 | $22.76 | $24.17 | $18.19 | $20.00 |
| New York | $18.07 | $20.17 | $20.02 | $21.00 | $17.19 | $21.56 | $30.00 | $35.78 | $30.11 | $28.43 |
| North Carolina | $14.01 | $15.05 | $16.59 | $17.02 | $18.47 | $18.22 | $23.31 | $27.53 | $29.16 | $25.43 |
| North Dakota | $14.56 | $16.85 | $18.15 | $17.53 | $16.76 | $19.61 | $21.55 | $35.81 | $35.65 | $21.30 |
| Ohio | $14.27 | $15.47 | $17.26 | $17.09 | $17.43 | $18.38 | $23.87 | $30.06 | $26.92 | $22.69 |
| Oklahoma | $13.33 | $13.76 | $14.96 | $15.25 | $14.26 | $17.20 | $22.57 | $27.67 | $17.61 | $19.08 |
| Oregon | $18.58 | $18.07 | $18.92 | $20.72 | $27.68 | $21.65 | $36.27 | $30.26 | $41.81 | $36.77 |
| Pennsylvania | $14.49 | $16.29 | $17.56 | $17.59 | $17.69 | $18.99 | $27.98 | $30.00 | $28.03 | $24.62 |
| Rhode Island | $17.76 | $18.05 | $17.94 | $17.55 | $15.00 | $21.51 | $29.35 | $32.39 | $36.04 | $26.26 |
| South Carolina | $14.26 | $14.55 | $14.99 | $17.18 | $16.20 | $17.65 | $20.99 | $27.22 | $27.88 | $24.78 |
| South Dakota | $13.43 | $14.40 | $17.06 | $17.42 | $23.94 | $17.01 | $24.25 | $29.51 | $25.00 | $21.56 |
| Tennessee | $14.26 | $14.83 | $16.08 | $17.51 | $15.05 | $17.80 | $22.76 | $26.68 | $24.07 | $23.73 |
| Texas | $13.73 | $14.26 | $15.87 | $16.71 | $14.75 | $17.66 | $19.17 | $27.77 | $28.54 | $24.91 |
| Utah | $15.21 | $17.44 | $15.48 | $17.55 | $16.89 | $19.59 | $27.35 | $28.24 | $29.87 | $27.84 |
| Vermont | $18.29 | $18.12 | $19.67 | $21.82 | $23.39 | $22.23 | $29.89 | $29.88 | — | $32.65 |
| Virginia | $16.51 | $16.26 | $16.91 | $17.67 | — | $18.46 | $23.34 | $28.72 | $29.91 | $27.00 |
| Washington | $20.04 | $20.28 | $21.89 | $22.50 | $28.61 | $22.57 | $30.70 | $36.38 | $42.00 | $30.81 |
| West Virginia | $13.32 | $13.51 | $14.90 | $14.23 | $16.58 | $15.50 | $23.62 | $23.49 | $22.40 | $22.31 |
| Wisconsin | $15.61 | $17.08 | $17.79 | $17.57 | $17.42 | $19.82 | $27.85 | $29.67 | $27.92 | $20.12 |
| Wyoming | $13.58 | $15.32 | $17.33 | $17.71 | $14.03 | $18.42 | $22.22 | $26.30 | $29.80 | $26.11 |
— means BLS published no figure for that state and occupation (sample too small).
Figures are medians — half of workers earn more, half less.
Reading the table as a business owner
- Wages are your price floor. A cleaning business in Massachusetts competing
for workers at a $21+ median cannot price jobs like one in Mississippi — the wage column
for your state sets the floor under your bids. - The spread is the story. The same occupation routinely pays 50–80%
more in the highest-wage state than the lowest — a bigger spread than most licensing costs,
and a bigger factor in where a business model works. - Owner-heavy trades read differently. Massage therapists and PIs are often
self-employed; for those, the wage is closer to what the market pays per hour of your own labor
than to a payroll line. - Licensing and wages travel together. What it takes to hire a licensed
cosmetologist or HVAC tech in your state is covered in our
salon and HVAC guides — and
every other trade here has its own state-by-state guide.
Frequently asked questions
What do these wage figures measure?
Each figure is the median hourly wage for that occupation in that state, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates — the federal survey of what employers actually pay. Half of workers in the occupation earn more than the median, half earn less.
Why are some cells blank?
BLS suppresses estimates where the sample is too small to publish reliably — common for small occupations in small states, like tree trimmers or private investigators. A blank means BLS published no figure, not that the occupation doesn’t exist there.
Are these what business owners earn?
No — these are employee wages: what you would pay staff, or earn working for someone else. Owner income works differently (draws and profit rather than a wage), but staff wages are usually a service business’s largest cost, which is why the state-to-state spread matters to anyone writing a business plan.
How current is this data?
These are the May 2025 OEWS estimates, the most recent vintage published by BLS. We refresh this page when BLS releases each new annual vintage in the spring.
Sources
- BLS — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 state estimates —
state tables and the
OEWS tables page (file oesm25st) - BLS — OEWS technical notes, May 2025 —
methodology