Construction Laborers
The national median wage for construction laborers is $43,210 across 910K jobs. After cost of living, Seattle goes furthest at $50,324, and 43 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $54,853 | $50,324 | 6,809 | 17.0 |
| 2 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $50,481 | $49,981 | 13,726 | 22.9 |
| 3 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $56,477 | $49,980 | 8,635 | 19.2 |
| 4 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $49,287 | $48,799 | 7,022 | 23.4 |
| 5 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $45,707 | $48,624 | 8,807 | 22.0 |
| 6 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $47,138 | $48,596 | 12,844 | 18.4 |
| 7 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $50,529 | $48,586 | 1,676 | 22.4 |
| 8 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $45,429 | $48,329 | 2,688 | 17.9 |
| 9 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $47,356 | $48,322 | 7,029 | 12.8 |
| 10 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $51,825 | $47,986 | 29,046 | 23.2 |
| 11 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $46,191 | $47,620 | 11,201 | 17.2 |
| 12 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $46,785 | $47,258 | 741 | 14.8 |
| 13 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $44,234 | $47,057 | 4,016 | 16.1 |
| 14 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $42,812 | $46,535 | 3,902 | 19.5 |
| 15 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $44,109 | $46,431 | 2,715 | 18.1 |
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $45,045 | $45,964 | 6,250 | 17.9 |
| 17 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $42,278 | $45,954 | 3,830 | 19.1 |
| 18 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $49,571 | $45,899 | 7,074 | 14.2 |
| 19 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $45,433 | $45,892 | 11,290 | 14.1 |
| 20 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $46,767 | $45,850 | 974 | 19.5 |
| 21 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $44,373 | $45,745 | 3,947 | 15.8 |
| 22 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $46,189 | $45,732 | 3,451 | 23.0 |
| 23 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $43,958 | $45,318 | 11,596 | 21.1 |
| 24 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $41,611 | $45,229 | 3,495 | 17.5 |
| 25 | Columbus, OH | OH | $41,537 | $45,149 | 4,043 | 20.2 |
| 26 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $39,711 | $45,126 | 2,037 | 20.4 |
| 27 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $41,422 | $45,024 | 4,478 | 17.9 |
| 28 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $41,831 | $44,980 | 3,102 | 15.5 |
| 29 | Madison, WI | WI | $41,793 | $44,939 | 1,179 | 15.7 |
| 30 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $48,893 | $44,856 | 1,285 | 17.1 |
| 31 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $39,386 | $44,757 | 3,219 | 21.5 |
| 32 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $40,226 | $44,696 | 2,899 | 19.3 |
| 33 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $46,660 | $44,438 | 3,665 | 14.7 |
| 34 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $46,155 | $44,380 | 1,691 | 16.9 |
| 35 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $49,671 | $43,957 | 5,460 | 18.2 |
| 36 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $49,593 | $43,888 | 23,044 | 23.0 |
| 37 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $40,756 | $43,824 | 2,215 | 14.8 |
| 38 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $42,297 | $43,605 | 417 | 16.7 |
| 39 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $45,301 | $43,559 | 4,803 | 19.2 |
| 40 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $38,699 | $43,482 | 1,087 | 14.5 |
| 41 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $39,982 | $43,459 | 2,385 | 15.9 |
| 42 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $38,112 | $43,309 | 1,476 | 19.7 |
| 43 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $41,949 | $43,246 | 3,598 | 18.0 |
| 44 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $38,767 | $43,074 | 1,768 | 17.7 |
| 45 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $43,319 | $42,890 | 5,792 | 12.9 |
| 46 | Boise City, ID | ID | $39,021 | $42,880 | 1,556 | 20.8 |
| 47 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $38,023 | $42,722 | 794 | 19.9 |
| 48 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $38,434 | $42,704 | 1,500 | 15.0 |
| 49 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $44,420 | $42,305 | 1,109 | 22.2 |
| 50 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $41,134 | $41,973 | 3,930 | 19.6 |
| 51 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $47,153 | $41,728 | 2,824 | 14.1 |
| 52 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $40,355 | $41,603 | 891 | 22.3 |
| 53 | Richmond, VA | VA | $41,921 | $41,506 | 3,427 | 22.9 |
| 54 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $38,579 | $41,483 | 2,191 | 21.9 |
| 55 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $38,570 | $41,473 | 1,429 | 19.1 |
| 56 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $37,047 | $41,163 | 1,359 | 13.6 |
| 57 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $38,493 | $40,950 | 1,855 | 18.6 |
| 58 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $42,149 | $40,921 | 7,753 | 14.1 |
| 59 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $35,421 | $40,714 | 1,234 | 16.4 |
| 60 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $35,562 | $40,411 | 730 | 18.3 |
| 61 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $37,574 | $40,402 | 1,382 | 13.8 |
| 62 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $41,545 | $40,335 | 3,866 | 12.9 |
| 63 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $40,727 | $40,324 | 3,245 | 21.6 |
| 64 | Billings, MT | MT | $36,139 | $40,154 | 429 | 17.2 |
| 65 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $35,304 | $40,118 | 1,840 | 18.4 |
| 66 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $36,235 | $39,819 | 270 | 18.0 |
| 67 | Wichita, KS | KS | $35,698 | $39,664 | 1,154 | 23.1 |
| 68 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $38,312 | $39,497 | 4,123 | 16.5 |
| 69 | Columbia, SC | SC | $36,407 | $39,147 | 1,092 | 14.6 |
| 70 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $39,995 | $38,830 | 5,058 | 20.2 |
| 71 | Jackson, MS | MS | $33,058 | $37,998 | 662 | 13.2 |
| 72 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $37,870 | $37,495 | 1,614 | 16.1 |
| 73 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $40,095 | $37,125 | 2,346 | 23.5 |
| 74 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $37,799 | $36,698 | 2,664 | 17.8 |
| 75 | El Paso, TX | TX | $35,467 | $36,564 | 1,474 | 19.6 |
| 76 | Rochester, NY | NY | $39,444 | $36,522 | 1,765 | 17.6 |
| 77 | Charleston, WV | WV | $32,038 | $35,598 | 474 | 19.0 |
| 78 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $39,057 | $34,564 | 6,025 | 15.1 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Construction Laborers?
The national median annual wage for construction laborers is $43,210, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do construction laborers earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for construction laborers are Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($50,324), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($49,981), San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($49,980).
How many metro areas have data for construction laborers?
We show wage and employment estimates for construction laborers across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.