---
title: "Tractor drivers and builders: who earns the highest salaries in Ukraine in 2026"
description: "In Ukraine in 2026, blue-collar professions have surpassed many office jobs in terms of salary levels. Tractor drivers in Cherkasy earn up to 165,000 UAH, while builders in the regions earn from 75,000 to 100,000. A shortage of personnel is forcing employers to raise rates, but the IT sector still holds the records with salaries up to 300,000. 🚜💰🏗️"
date: 2026-05-27T03:45:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/highest-salaries-in-ukraine-2026-builders-and-tractor-drivers
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Tractor drivers and builders: who earns the highest salaries in Ukraine in 2026

![Green tractor with seeder working the field, kicking up dust — symbol of rising tractorist salaries in Ukraine in 2026](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/02/samyie-vysokie-zarplatyi-v-ukraine-2026-stroiteli-i-tractoristy/samyie-vysokie-zarplatyi-v-ukraine-2026-stroiteli-i-tractoristy-1.webp)

The Ukrainian labor market in 2026 is showing unexpected trends: the highest salaries are offered not only to IT specialists but also to blue-collar workers. The leaders in terms of wage levels are builders, long-haul truck drivers, auto service employees, and agricultural workers. In several regions, wages in these sectors have already exceeded the 100,000–150,000 UAH per month mark.

OLX Work analysts conducted a large-scale study of job vacancies in all regional centers of the country and identified professions with the highest median salaries. It turned out that the shortage of personnel in the technical and manufacturing sectors is forcing employers to significantly revise working conditions.

### Agricultural sector: explosive wage growth

The situation in Cherkasy is of particular interest. Here, the highest median salary among all vacancies in the country was recorded — 165,000 UAH. This amount is offered to tractor drivers in the agribusiness sector. Over the last year, wages in this profession have increased fourfold, indicating a critical shortage of qualified mechanization specialists.

High rates are also characteristic of other specialists in the agricultural sector. Employers are actively competing for personnel, offering conditions that were previously unavailable for blue-collar jobs.

### Construction and finishing: regional leaders

In most cities in Ukraine, it is blue-collar professions that maintain leadership in the salary rankings. In Kyiv, as in many other major centers, construction remains the highest-paying sector.

The situation in the regions looks as follows:

    - **Lviv:** facade workers are offered up to 82,000 UAH.

    - **Ivano-Frankivsk:** plasterers and painters receive 75,000 UAH.

    - **Rivne:** wage levels in construction also reach 75,000 UAH.

    - **Vinnytsia:** wages for tilers have more than doubled, and for painters — by 70%.

    - **Odesa:** tilers are offered 85,000 UAH.

    - **Mykolaiv:** plasterers are offered up to 90,000 UAH.

    - **Poltava:** plasterers can count on income up to 100,000 UAH.

### Specifics of Kyiv and the IT sector

The capital retains its position as a center of high salaries, but with interesting nuances. In Kyiv, real estate sales managers entered the list of the highest-paid professions. The median salary in this sector reached 75,000 UAH, which is 67% higher than last year's figures.

At the same time, demand for highly qualified IT specialists remains steadily high. Companies continue to offer competitive conditions for niche experts. For example, the company N-iX has opened vacancies for Lead AI/ML Engineer and Lead FullStack Software Engineer with artificial intelligence, offering income up to 300,000 UAH.

### Medicine and transport

Employers are ready to pay significant sums in other industries as well. Long-haul truck drivers are among the top high-paid specialists across the country. In the medical field, high rates are observed in the southern and eastern regions:

    - In Kherson, dentists can earn up to 150,000 UAH.

    - In Zaporizhzhia, the income of dentists is about 85,000 UAH.

### Causes of growth and state initiatives

Analysts link the sharp rise in wages to an acute shortage of personnel in technical and blue-collar professions. Employers are forced to increase rates to attract specialists, as competition for personnel becomes increasingly fierce.

To solve the problem of personnel shortage in the construction and defense sectors, Ukraine is launching the 'Experience Matters' program. The initiative is aimed at employing people over 50 years old. The program provides training, internships, and subsequent employment, and is also intended to reduce age stereotypes in the labor market.