We welcome our clients, candidates, and friends to our 2020 annual issue of “The Xemplar Wage Report” for Salt Lake City, a comprehensive analysis of current tradesmen wages in the region based on Xemplar’s proprietary data from client job orders and job placements during the period. We offer this report as a chance for you to gain an edge on the competition by knowing exactly what tradesmen are earning in the Salt Lake City area.
***Do you want to stay informed as a tradesman hiring manager or tradesman regarding ever-fluctuating tradesmen wages in your area? Send us an email at info@xemplar.com to be added to our distribution list for future wage reports! Please confirm that you are located in the Salt Lake City area or one of our other main service areas (Denver or Houston).***
2020 brought hiring extremes in the face of the COVID pandemic. In some cases, companies halted the hiring of tradespeople. In others, sometimes due to the impact of the virus or the nature of their industries, companies found themselves desperately in need of workers. In general, candidates reported making every effort to stay in their current positions when possible.
Wages for all combined trades categories offered a breadth of pay levels ranging from an average of $14.61 for entry-level positions up to $29.89 with 9-years of experience. The mid-range of 5-years experience represented an average wage of $21.26 per hour, which was a $1.07 increase from the second half of 2019. The average wage for a tradesperson in Salt Lake City in 2020 was $21.43, a $1.43 increase from the second half of 2019. A wide range of entry-level positions continue to be available to new tradespeople including manufacturing production, machine operating, shop helper, and yard technician. In some cases, such as welding, “entry-level” often means little to no work experience, but also the completion of a trades certificate course.
Equipment Mechanics remain in high demand throughout the Salt Lake Valley and represented an attractive trades category for tradesmen with an entry-level wage average of $18.00 and a wage at 10-years of experience of $28.96. Equipment Mechanics with 5-years of experience received an average wage of $22.88.
Maintenance Mechanics received an average wage of $18.00 for 1-year of experience and an average wage of $34.36 at 10-years of experience. Maintenance Mechanics with 5-years of experience received an average wage of $23.36. Of all of our wage categories in Salt Lake City, Maintenance Mechanics received the highest average wage of $24.36 and the most rapid wage increase from 1-year of experience to 10-years of experience.
Welders earned an average wage of $14.75 for entry-level positions up to $22.00 for 7-years of experience. Welders with 5-years of experience received an average wage of $21.00.
CNC Machinists drew the second-highest total average wage of $22.33 in our report with an average wage of $16.10 for 1-year of experience up to $29.56 for 10-years of experience. CNC Machinists with 5-years of experience received an average wage of $22.70, which represented a $0.35 decline in average pay from the second half of 2019.
CDL Drivers in our study received an average entry-level wage of $17.25 and $21.20 at 6-years of experience. CDL drivers with 5-years of experience received an average wage of $21.20 as well.
Delivery Drivers received our lowest average wage of $15.25 in our report with an entry-level wage of $13.00 going up to $16.47 for 5-years of experience.