Top 10 Construction Jobs (How much do Construction Workers Make?)

The short answer: the median annual wage across construction and extraction occupations was $58,360 in May 2024, against $49,500 for all occupations in the U.S. economy. Construction pays above the national midpoint, and it does so without requiring a four-year degree in most of its roles.

But "construction worker" is not one job, and that single number hides a spread of more than two to one. Construction laborers sat at a median of $46,050. Elevator installers sat at $106,580. Same industry, same hard hat, radically different paycheck.

Every figure below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2024. They are national medians, which means half the people in that occupation earned more and half earned less.

How to read these numbers before you trust them

A median is a midpoint, not a starting wage. Your first year in any of these trades will land well below the figure listed, and a fully licensed veteran in a high-cost metro will land well above it.

Three caveats worth holding onto:

• These are national numbers. The same trade can differ by 40 percent or more between a dense metro market and a rural county.
• BLS wage data excludes self-employed workers. That matters enormously in construction, where a large share of experienced tradespeople eventually work for themselves. The published medians understate the ceiling in trades with heavy self-employment.
• Median pay reflects the whole occupation. Apprentices and thirty-year journeymen are averaged into the same figure.

The ten highest-paying construction jobs

1. Construction managers — $106,980

The top of the list, and the one role here that typically expects a bachelor's degree in construction, business, or engineering. Construction managers plan, budget, schedule, and supervise projects end to end.

Employment is projected to grow 9 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the 3 percent average across all occupations, with about 46,800 openings a year. Pay skews higher in heavy and civil engineering construction, where the median reached $121,060.

Notably, 36 percent of construction managers are self-employed — this is a role many people reach by running their own outfit rather than by being hired into it. If that is the direction you want, the general contractor and project superintendent paths are the two common routes.

2. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers — $106,580

The highest-paying construction trade you can enter with a high school diploma. Installers assemble, maintain, and repair elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.

The pay is not an accident. The work is safety-critical, heavily code-governed, the apprenticeship is long and competitive, and the workforce is small. Scarcity plus liability is the most reliable wage premium in the trades.

3. Boilermakers — $73,340

Boilermakers assemble, install, and repair boilers, vats, and large pressure vessels. High school diploma to enter. Heavy, hot, often travel-intensive industrial work — and paid accordingly.

4. Construction and building inspectors — $72,120

Inspectors verify that work meets building codes, zoning rules, and contract specifications. High school diploma to enter, but the job realistically requires years of prior trade experience first, because you cannot judge work you have never done.

This is one of the best destinations for a tradesperson whose body is ready to come off the tools while their knowledge is at its peak.

5. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters — $62,970

Installing and repairing piping systems, from residential fixtures to industrial process lines. High school diploma to enter, then a licensed apprenticeship in most states.

Plumbing is one of the strongest wage-to-training ratios in construction and one of the easiest trades to eventually run as your own business. See the plumber path, or the plumbing apprenticeship if you are starting from zero.

6. Electricians — $62,350

Installing and maintaining electrical power, lighting, communications, and control systems. High school diploma to enter, then a multi-year apprenticeship and state licensing.

Electrical work is the most transferable skill set on this list — it carries into solar, data centers, EV infrastructure, and industrial controls without starting over. The electrician path leads to master electrician, which is where the pay steps up materially.

7. Ironworkers — $61,940

Installing structural and reinforcing steel for buildings, bridges, and roads. High school diploma to enter. Genuinely hazardous work at height, with strong union representation in many markets.

8. Sheet metal workers — $60,850

Fabricating and installing ductwork and products made from thin metal sheet. High school diploma to enter. The fabrication side rewards precision and layout skill, and it overlaps closely with HVAC.

9. HVAC mechanics and installers — $59,810

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration. Typically entered through a postsecondary nondegree award — a six-month to two-year certificate — plus EPA refrigerant certification, which is legally required to handle refrigerants.

Employment is projected to grow 8 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 40,100 openings a year. Retrofit and efficiency work is a large part of that demand. See the HVAC technician path.

10. Carpenters — $59,310

Constructing and installing building frameworks and structures. High school diploma to enter, and the widest entry point of any skilled trade on this list.

Carpentry is the classic on-ramp: framing teaches you how a building actually goes together, which makes it the most common launching pad toward supervision and contracting. The carpenter path branches into finish carpentry and onward to foreman.

Where you actually start

Almost nobody begins at the numbers above. The realistic entry point is construction laborers and helpers, at a median of $46,050 — carrying, staging, cleaning, and learning the site. It is the door, not the destination. See the construction laborer path.

The better door, if you can get it, is a registered apprenticeship. You earn a wage from day one while your training is paid for, and you exit with a credential instead of debt. The electrician and carpenter apprenticeships are the two most widely available.

Other construction trades, for comparison

Ranked by May 2024 median annual wage:

• Drywall and ceiling tile installers and tapers — $58,800
• Construction equipment operators — $58,320
• Masonry workers — $56,600
• Glaziers — $55,440
• Flooring installers and tile and stone setters — $52,000
• Solar photovoltaic installers — $51,860
• Roofers — $50,970
• Insulation workers — $50,730
• Painters, construction and maintenance — $48,660
• Hazardous materials removal workers — $48,490

What actually moves your pay

Reading the list top to bottom, the pattern is clear. Four things separate a $46,000 job from a $100,000 one, and none of them is working harder:

• Licensing. A license is a legal barrier to entry, and barriers to entry create wage premiums. Master licenses in the electrical and plumbing trades are the clearest example.
• Consequence. Elevators, boilers, and structural steel pay more than painting because the cost of getting them wrong is catastrophic.
• Supervision. Moving from tools to crews — foreman, then superintendent — is the most common step-change in construction earnings.
• Ownership. The self-employment rate among construction managers is the tell. The highest earners in this industry generally own the business.

Overtime, union representation, and metro cost-of-living all layer on top of these, but they modify the number rather than change which tier you are in.

Figuring out which one fits you

The highest-paying trade is not automatically the right one. Elevator work means confined shafts and on-call emergencies. Ironwork means height and weather. Inspection means paperwork and diplomacy. These are different lives, not just different wages.

If you are weighing them, the career quiz matches your existing skills and preferences against every role above and shows you what training each one still requires. The skill tree shows how the trades connect, which matters more than most people expect — the fastest route to a high wage is often a lateral move from a trade you have already started.

Source

All wage figures are median annual wages for May 2024, and all growth projections cover 2024 to 2034, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. BLS wage estimates exclude self-employed workers.