Texas Apprenticeship Programs
As of May 2026, Texas operates one of the larger registered-apprenticeship systems in the country: 71,000 active apprentices in 2,400 programs, with completion pay near $31.80/hour.
- Active apprentices
- 71,000
- National rank
- #2 / 51
- Completion rate
- 55.1%
- Completion wage
- $32
Texas ranks #2 - among the largest of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 8.4% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 55.1% completion rate sits 3.1 pts below the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 84% - from $17 to $32 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction TE · Texas
Texas registered-apprenticeship filing: 71,000 active apprentices (rank 2/51), 2,400 programs, 55.1% completion.
- BOOK-MEGA 71,000
- RANK-TOP #2
- PROG-DENSE 2,400
- COMP-MID 55.1%
- WAGE-STRONG +84%
- SHARE-MID 8.4%
- NEW-FY 18,500
Nearest enrollment peer: California (18,000 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: apprenticeships vs college
Where Texas sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction; Texas sits in the top tercile. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
Texas vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
71,000 2nd of 51 higher than 49 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-05-15
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading Texas's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: program size
Texas's most unusual number is program size: 29.6 apprentices per registered program, larger than 98% of states.
A top-5 system by enrollment
71,000 active apprentices put Texas at rank 2 of 51; its 8.4% slice of national enrollment means this one system reaches a meaningful share of every registered apprentice in the country.
Below-average completion
Completion trails at 55.1%, 3.1 points under the national 58.2%. Whatever intake achieves, attrition gives part of it back.
Strong wage progression
Wages move further here than in most states: $17.25/hour at entry to $31.80 at completion, a 84.3% climb versus the 82.7% national norm.
Steady intake
A 26.1% intake ratio (18,500 new apprentices this fiscal year) keeps Texas in the middle tercile for pipeline speed.
Texas's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Boilermaker 21%
- Plumber 27%
- HVAC Mechanic -
- Pipefitter -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does Texas have?
71,000 active registered apprentices — rank 2 of 51 jurisdictions — spread over about 2,400 registered programs.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in Texas?
55.1%, which trails the 58.2% national average by 3.1 points.
How much do apprentices earn in Texas?
Starting pay averages $17.25/hour and completion pay $31.80 — a 84.3% increase, among the strongest wage progressions of any state.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in Texas?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for Texas are Electrician, Plumber, HVAC Mechanic, Pipefitter, Boilermaker — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
Why does Texas have so few programs for its size?
Because its sponsors run large: 29.6 apprentices per program on average, top-tercile nationally — the same enrollment needs fewer registered programs.
Compare other states
What to do with this
Use Texas' apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree with real wage and growth numbers. Apprenticeships vs college
- Browse the full occupation directory to check wage and AI exposure for a specific trade. Browse all occupations
- See which occupations are projected to add the most jobs through 2034. Fastest-growing occupations
Apprenticeship figures come from U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship data; enrollment and completion vary by program and year.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).