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Average Hourly Wage of Construction Laborers, By State

Photo by Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0Photo by Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0

If you’re looking to start a career in the construction industry, being hired as a construction laborer is a typical entry level position.  Below you’ll find a graph and a list of the average hourly wage for construction laborers in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, so you can see how your state stacks up.  All data was pulled from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May 2016.

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Rankings by State

51. Arkansas — $12.38/hour

50. North Carolina — $13.50/hour

49. Alabama — $13.74/hour

48. Mississippi — $13.92/hour

47. Florida — $14.00/hour

46. South Dakota — $14.02/hour

45. Oklahoma — $14.19/hour

44. Tennessee — $14.25/hour

43. New Mexico — $14.30/hour

42. South Carolina — $14.31/hour

41. Virginia — $14.31/hour

40. Idaho — $14.41/hour

39. Nebraska — $14.50/hour

38. Texas — $14.62/hour

37. Utah — $14.80/hour

36. Maine — $14.93/hour

35. Louisiana — $15.07/hour

34. Georgia — $15.69/hour

33. Arizona — $15.84/hour

32. Vermont — $15.94/hour

31. Maryland — $15.96/hour

30. Kentucky — $15.97/hour

29. Kansas — $16.29/hour

28. Wyoming — $16.45/hour

27. West Virginia — $16.47/hour

26. Colorado — $16.52/hour

25. Delaware — $16.57/hour

24. New Hampshire — $17.16/hour

23. Iowa — $17.23/hour

22. Montana — $18.06/hour

21. Oregon — $18.13/hour

20. Michigan — $18.31/hour

19. Indiana — $18.57/hour

18. Pennsylvania — $18.61/hour

17. Nevada — $18.90/hour

16. North Dakota — $19.10/hour

15. Ohio — $19.20/hour

14. District of Columbia — $19.87/hour

13. Wisconsin — $19.93/hour

12. Rhode Island — $20.45/hour

11. Missouri — $20.51/hour

10. California — $21.26/hour

9. Connecticut — $21.47/hour

8. Washington — $22.00/hour

7. Minnesota — $22.88/hour

6. New York — $23.11/hour

5. Alaska — $23.88/hour

4. New Jersey — $24.05/hour

3. Massachusetts — $25.84/hour

2. Hawaii — $27.01/hour

1. Illinois — $27.01/hour

Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released a list of job salaries of 19 construction jobs that only required a high school diploma or equivalent.  It was interesting to see the wide range of median pay within that group ($78,620 for elevator Installers and repairmen vs. $30,190 for a general construction laborer and helper), but many of the construction trades were left off of the list.  Now, the NCCER has released the results of a 2015 survey, which lists the average salaries of 31 construction trades.

Being a construction worker is truly satisfying, because at the end of the project you have a tangible product you can admire for all your hard work.  You get up early, you work long hours in less than ideal conditions, and you sweat a lot.  But, even though many find it satisfying, the main reason we work is for money.

A recent study by the Master Builders Association of Victoria has evaluated the annual earnings of hourly non-managerial employees in the construction industry and analyzed the impacts on the Australian construction industry and economy as a whole.  The report’s findings highlight the enormous labor wage increase of construction workers under union contracts in Victoria, Australia and compared those earned wages to other major salaried workers in the area.