Commercial trades hiring in Salt Lake City.
A statewide data-center boom is pulling on one small pool of specialized talent - Novva's 175MW campus inside the metro, plus two multi-gigawatt megaprojects (Stratos, Creekstone) further out. Mission-critical electricians now run above the national rate.
A statewide data-center race, one small labor pool.
Against the BLS national median for the same occupation, field trades here run from −13% for roofers to +3% for heavy equipment operators.
Novva's data-center campus in West Jordan, inside the metro itself, is completing phases 2 and 3 in 2026 - a 100-acre, direct-to-chip liquid-cooled AI campus that will span 1 million square feet and 175 megawatts of capacity, among the largest of its kind in the world. QTS's Eagle Mountain campus nearby is generating more than 2,000 construction jobs.
Further out but drawing on the same statewide labor pool: the Stratos Project in Box Elder County requires 9 gigawatts of capacity across roughly 40,000 acres, and Creekstone Energy's "gigasite" in Millard County will need more than 10 gigawatts - billed as the largest data-center campus in the world once complete. Both are outside the core Salt Lake City MSA, but they compete directly with Novva and QTS for the same small pool of certified electricians and mechanical technicians statewide.
Major capital projects driving Salt Lake City commercial trades demand
- Novva Data Center Campus (West Jordan)1M sq ft total, 175MW capacityPhases 2-3 completing 2026
A 100-acre direct-to-chip cooled AI data-center campus inside the Salt Lake City MSA proper - among the largest of its kind in the world. Extremely demanding mechanical (liquid cooling) and electrical scope.
- QTS Data Center (Eagle Mountain)UndisclosedUnder construction
More than 2,000 construction jobs and 100+ permanent roles, with a closed-loop cooling system. Adds directly to the statewide competition for data-center mechanical and electrical talent that Salt Lake City-based contractors draw from.
- Stratos Project (Box Elder County)9GW capacity requiredApproved May 2026
A data-center and energy campus spanning roughly 40,000 acres, led by investor Kevin O'Leary. Outside the core SLC MSA but a massive draw on the same statewide skilled-trades labor pool once construction ramps.
- Creekstone Energy "gigasite" (Millard County)10+ GW capacityUnder construction
Billed as the largest data-center campus in the world once complete. Like Stratos, outside the core metro but a defining statewide demand signal for Utah's mechanical and electrical trades.
What you'll actually pay - by role.
Hourly wages for the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release for May 2025. These are the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile BLS reports — not our estimate of them. Each row names the BLS occupation it was read from, because our job titles and BLS's occupations are not the same list.
Measured against the BLS national median for the same occupation, field trades in the Salt Lake City-Murray area run from −13% for roofers to +3% for heavy equipment operators. The spread between trades is wider than the gap between most cities, which is why a single "market premium" figure is not much use when you are pricing a specific role.
| Role | Salt Lake City hourly | National hourly | Median vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial construction superintendentBLS Construction Managers (11-9021) | $47.81 – $64.10median $52.75 | $42.57 – $72.91median $55.28 | −5% |
| Commercial electrician (journeyman)BLS Electricians (47-2111) | $23.56 – $38.55median $30.11 | $23.76 – $40.36median $30.38 | −1% |
| Commercial plumber, pipefitter or steamfitter (journeyman)BLS Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (47-2152) | $24.49 – $38.34median $31.15 | $24.13 – $40.92median $30.67 | +2% |
| Heavy equipment operatorBLS Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators (47-2073) | $27.70 – $32.13median $29.69 | $23.40 – $37.10median $28.78 | +3% |
| Sheet metal workerBLS Sheet Metal Workers (47-2211) | $22.68 – $39.57median $30.25 | $22.99 – $39.24median $29.71 | +2% |
| Commercial rooferBLS Roofers (47-2181) | $21.94 – $29.71median $23.18 | $22.24 – $31.44median $26.65 | −13% |
| Commercial HVAC technicianBLS Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (49-9021) | $22.87 – $36.24median $29.23 | $23.25 – $37.05median $29.33 | Level with US |
| Commercial estimatorBLS Cost Estimators (13-1051) | $30.16 – $51.19median $39.20 | $29.40 – $48.97median $37.86 | +4% |
BLS counts plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters and sprinkler fitters as one occupation. We do not split them here, because splitting them would mean inventing a number BLS does not publish.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. 25th–75th percentile hourly, Salt Lake City-Murray, UT, retrieved October 15, 2026. Download the source file (40 MB .zip) and check any figure. BLS publishes no commercial-only, journeyman-only or certification-specific wage, so we do not print one.
What's happening in Salt Lake City, trade by trade.
Quick read of the current Salt Lake City market for each of our 20 commercial trades verticals.
HVAC & Mechanical
Utah is home to some of the most demanding mechanical builds in the country - Novva's direct-to-chip liquid cooling in West Jordan, plus the statewide pull from Stratos (9GW) and Creekstone's "gigasite" (10+GW). Liquid-cooling mechanical technicians run above the national rate.
Commercial Electrical
The single tightest trade in the market. Mission-critical/data-center electricians run above the national rate - driven by Novva, QTS, and the statewide pull of two multi-gigawatt megaprojects (Stratos, Creekstone) all competing for the same pool.
Commercial Plumbing
Against the BLS national median for the same occupation, field trades here run from −13% for roofers to +3% for heavy equipment operators.
Commercial Construction
Superintendents with hyperscale data-center delivery experience are being recruited across Novva, QTS, and the statewide megaprojects. Against the BLS national median for the same occupation, field trades here run from −13% for roofers to +3% for heavy equipment operators.
Commercial Roofing
Large-footprint data-center and industrial roofing is the volume driver at Novva and QTS; general commercial roofing runs the market's standard growth premium.
Fire Protection
Data-center suppression at this scale (clean-agent, pre-action systems) is highly specialized. NICET III designers with data-center experience are genuinely scarce statewide given how many megaprojects are competing for them at once.
Paving & Asphalt
Site work for Novva and QTS's large campuses, plus the state's standard growth-driven commercial paving demand.
Commercial Landscaping
Corporate tech-campus landscaping for the data-center corridor, with stormwater management a real consideration on the large new data-center pads.
Commercial Flooring
Industrial and static-control flooring for data-center server environments is a distinct, higher-skill installation. General commercial flooring carries the region's standard premium.
Commercial Painting
Industrial coatings for the data-center buildout, alongside the state's standard growth-driven commercial painting demand.
Commercial Cleaning & FM
Data-center and cleanroom-adjacent cleaning protocols are a distinct, higher-skill tier from conventional office cleaning, with real premiums given the concentration of hyperscale facilities statewide.
Welding & Fabrication
Structural fabrication for the data-center corridor's buildout is sustained demand across Novva, QTS, and the larger statewide megaprojects. Standard shop welding remains close to the region's general premium.
Commercial Irrigation
A specialist trade most contractors still source through agriculture or generalist staffing - we recruit it directly, not as an afterthought.
Commercial Pest Control
Licensing-driven and referral-heavy - a maintained, license-verified pipeline outperforms reactive posting in this trade specifically.
Commercial Trucking
A licensing-bottlenecked market where CDL credentials and clean records matter more than resume keywords.
Elevator Maintenance
A small, credential-gated labor pool most generalist recruiters can't actually verify.
Insulation
Mechanical insulators and building-envelope installers are two distinct hiring pools most recruiters treat as one.
LED & Solar
One of the fastest-growing trades we track nationally, and one of the least served by specialist recruiters.
Masonry & Concrete
A small, referral-driven labor pool where reputation moves faster than job postings.
Physical Security
Installers and integrators need both electrical and IT skill - a dual-skillset hiring problem most firms get wrong.
The positions we fill in Salt Lake City, most often.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial trades contractors in Salt Lake City - from senior leadership down to field roles. The positions we recruit for in this market:
- Mission-critical / data center electrician - the hardest hire in the region
- Liquid-cooling mechanical technician (data center)
- Superintendent with hyperscale data-center delivery experience
- Project manager (data center, commercial GC)
- Senior estimator
- Structural welder (data-center corridor buildout)
- NICET III sprinkler designer (data-center suppression)
- Service manager (HVAC, electrical, plumbing)
For a full list of the 80+ commercial trades positions we recruit for, see the individual industry pages - each lists the 10 most-recruited roles for that trade with current wage ranges.
Frequently asked — commercial trades hiring in Salt Lake City.
How do you hire commercial trades talent in Salt Lake City in 2026?
Commercial trades hiring in Salt Lake City in 2026 is shaped by a statewide data-center boom. Novva's 1-million-square-foot, 175-megawatt AI data-center campus is under construction in West Jordan inside the metro itself, while QTS's Eagle Mountain campus is generating over 2,000 construction jobs nearby. Further out, two even larger megaprojects - the 9-gigawatt Stratos Project in Box Elder County and Creekstone Energy's 10+-gigawatt "gigasite" in Millard County, billed as the largest data-center campus in the world - draw on the same statewide pool of electricians and mechanical technicians. That concentration has pushed mission-critical electricians higher and liquid-cooling mechanical technicians higher, the two largest premiums tracked in this metro. Utah licenses contractors through DOPL with E200/E201 (electrical), P200/P201 (plumbing), and H100 (HVAC) classifications; any project $3,000 or more requires a license. My Trade Talent screens Salt Lake City candidates against both the data-center skills premium and DOPL licensing.
How long does it take to hire a commercial trades professional in Salt Lake City?
For field roles: typically 4-6 weeks from intake to signed offer. Mission-critical electricians and liquid-cooling mechanical technicians run considerably longer, 8-12 weeks, because Novva, QTS, and two multi-gigawatt statewide megaprojects (Stratos, Creekstone) are all competing for the same small pool of data-center-experienced talent.
Are commercial trades wages in Salt Lake City higher than the national average?
Yes, broadly. Against the BLS national median for the same occupation, field trades here run from −13% for roofers to +3% for heavy equipment operators. The real spread is in data-center specialties: mission-critical electricians run above the national rate and liquid-cooling mechanical technicians - the two largest premiums we track in this metro.
How is Utah's data-center boom affecting commercial trades hiring in Salt Lake City?
It's a statewide phenomenon, not confined to the metro itself. Novva's 1-million-square-foot, 175-megawatt campus is inside the Salt Lake City MSA in West Jordan, and QTS's Eagle Mountain campus is generating over 2,000 construction jobs nearby. Further out, the Stratos Project in Box Elder County (9 gigawatts) and Creekstone Energy's "gigasite" in Millard County (10+ gigawatts, billed as the largest data-center campus in the world) both draw on the same statewide pool of electricians and mechanical technicians that Salt Lake City-based contractors compete for. That statewide concentration is why data-center-specific trades carry such large premiums here.
What licensing applies to commercial trades contractors in Salt Lake City?
Utah licenses contractors through the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL). Electrical contractors need an E200 (general) or E201 (residential) classification with a master electrician qualifier; plumbing contractors need P200 or P201 with a master plumber qualifier; HVAC contractors need an H100 classification requiring a trade exam, Certified Natural Gas Technician certificate, and 4,000 hours of experience. Any project valued at $3,000 or more requires a licensed contractor.
Hiring commercial trades in Salt Lake City?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you wages, timeline, and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.
