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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

47-2061 Construction Laborers

Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers. Construction laborers who primarily assist a particular craft worker are classified under “Helpers, Construction Trades” (47-3010). Excludes “Hazardous Materials Removal Workers” (47-4041).


National estimates for Construction Laborers
Industry profile for Construction Laborers
Geographic profile for Construction Laborers

National estimates for Construction Laborers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Construction Laborers:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,012,780 0.9 % $ 22.29 $ 46,350 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Construction Laborers:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 14.28 $ 16.99 $ 19.59 $ 24.61 $ 34.82
Annual Wage (2) $ 29,700 $ 35,330 $ 40,750 $ 51,200 $ 72,430


Industry profile for Construction Laborers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Construction Laborers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Construction Laborers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Construction Laborers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other Specialty Trade Contractors 172,280 22.75 $ 22.06 $ 45,880
Residential Building Construction 140,700 15.55 $ 20.65 $ 42,950
Utility System Construction 116,300 20.81 $ 23.47 $ 48,810
Nonresidential Building Construction 111,110 13.63 $ 23.93 $ 49,770
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 104,340 10.96 $ 21.96 $ 45,690

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Construction Laborers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction 87,310 24.27 $ 26.52 $ 55,160
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 30,020 24.17 $ 24.13 $ 50,180
Other Specialty Trade Contractors 172,280 22.75 $ 22.06 $ 45,880
Utility System Construction 116,300 20.81 $ 23.47 $ 48,810
Residential Building Construction 140,700 15.55 $ 20.65 $ 42,950

Top paying industries for Construction Laborers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 220 0.72 $ 39.27 $ 81,670
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 760 0.20 $ 31.64 $ 65,810
Other Support Services 1,960 0.62 $ 29.43 $ 61,200
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 220 (7) $ 27.82 $ 57,860
Rail Transportation 110 0.06 $ 27.35 $ 56,890


Geographic profile for Construction Laborers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Construction Laborers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Construction Laborers, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of construction laborers by state, May 2022


States with the highest employment level in Construction Laborers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Texas 112,760 8.68 1.27 $ 18.08 $ 37,600
California 95,900 5.44 0.79 $ 27.03 $ 56,210
Florida 68,150 7.40 1.08 $ 18.12 $ 37,690
New York 48,320 5.30 0.77 $ 28.50 $ 59,280
Pennsylvania 37,970 6.54 0.95 $ 24.11 $ 50,150


Map of location quotient of construction laborers by state, May 2022


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Construction Laborers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Mexico 11,640 14.21 2.08 $ 17.87 $ 37,170
Utah 20,570 12.64 1.85 $ 20.41 $ 42,460
Louisiana 23,320 12.62 1.84 $ 18.99 $ 39,500
Wyoming 2,940 10.98 1.60 $ 19.45 $ 40,450
West Virginia 6,740 9.94 1.45 $ 19.57 $ 40,700


Map of annual mean wages of construction laborers by state, May 2022


Top paying states for Construction Laborers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii 4,320 7.25 1.06 $ 32.04 $ 66,650
Illinois 27,680 4.70 0.69 $ 31.53 $ 65,590
New Jersey 20,120 4.90 0.71 $ 31.53 $ 65,590
Massachusetts 20,490 5.75 0.84 $ 31.22 $ 64,940
New York 48,320 5.30 0.77 $ 28.50 $ 59,280



Map of employment of construction laborers by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Construction Laborers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 45,630 4.97 0.73 $ 30.93 $ 64,330
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 33,370 10.92 1.60 $ 18.56 $ 38,600
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 28,260 4.63 0.68 $ 25.96 $ 54,000
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 27,400 7.20 1.05 $ 18.68 $ 38,850
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 19,830 8.93 1.30 $ 21.22 $ 44,140
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 19,750 4.47 0.65 $ 32.85 $ 68,330
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 16,960 8.32 1.22 $ 28.67 $ 59,630
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 16,580 5.47 0.80 $ 21.29 $ 44,280
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 15,490 5.90 0.86 $ 18.58 $ 38,650
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 14,620 5.36 0.78 $ 19.06 $ 39,650


Map of location quotient of construction laborers by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Construction Laborers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Farmington, NM 1,050 24.07 3.51 $ 17.58 $ 36,560
Lake Charles, LA 2,070 22.01 3.21 $ 20.85 $ 43,370
Longview, TX 1,750 18.60 2.72 $ 16.60 $ 34,530
Baton Rouge, LA 7,050 18.32 2.67 $ 20.76 $ 43,180
The Villages, FL 650 18.00 2.63 $ 16.61 $ 34,560
St. George, UT 1,380 17.31 2.53 $ 18.70 $ 38,900
Greeley, CO 1,710 15.91 2.32 $ 20.70 $ 43,060
Provo-Orem, UT 4,040 14.19 2.07 $ 21.54 $ 44,800
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 3,950 13.79 2.01 $ 18.06 $ 37,550
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC 1,060 13.57 1.98 $ 18.70 $ 38,900


Map of annual mean wages of construction laborers by area, May 2022


Top paying metropolitan areas for Construction Laborers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Trenton, NJ 830 3.49 0.51 $ 33.19 $ 69,040
Urban Honolulu, HI 3,000 7.09 1.03 $ 32.93 $ 68,490
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 19,750 4.47 0.65 $ 32.85 $ 68,330
Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ 460 7.62 1.11 $ 32.07 $ 66,710
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 14,360 5.31 0.78 $ 31.95 $ 66,450
Carbondale-Marion, IL 340 6.49 0.95 $ 31.59 $ 65,700
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 12,290 5.14 0.75 $ 31.48 $ 65,480
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 830 6.67 0.97 $ 31.47 $ 65,460
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI 490 6.65 0.97 $ 31.36 $ 65,230
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 45,630 4.97 0.73 $ 30.93 $ 64,330

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Construction Laborers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) 3,310 10.28 1.50 $ 22.69 $ 47,190
Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 3,110 20.10 2.93 $ 17.73 $ 36,890
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 2,880 10.52 1.54 $ 16.67 $ 34,670
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,740 7.15 1.04 $ 18.90 $ 39,310
West Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 2,470 12.62 1.84 $ 17.09 $ 35,550

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Construction Laborers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 3,110 20.10 2.93 $ 17.73 $ 36,890
Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area 1,270 15.03 2.19 $ 19.59 $ 40,740
Central Utah nonmetropolitan area 830 14.92 2.18 $ 20.28 $ 42,180
Northern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area 1,980 14.88 2.17 $ 19.02 $ 39,560
West Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 2,470 12.62 1.84 $ 17.09 $ 35,550

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Construction Laborers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area 960 7.48 1.09 $ 29.27 $ 60,890
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 830 8.48 1.24 $ 29.26 $ 60,850
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 600 5.77 0.84 $ 27.85 $ 57,930
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 460 7.62 1.11 $ 27.66 $ 57,530
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 860 8.50 1.24 $ 27.25 $ 56,680


About May 2022 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2023