Construction Laborers Salary: $68,084 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 1,057,660 construction laborers nationally earn a mean of $68,084. Employment in the series shown fell about 5% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 3.1% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Construction Laborers: what the data shows
Common questions about construction laborers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a construction laborers?
Construction Laborers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 47-2061.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 1,057,660 workers.
What does a construction laborers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Getting Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Controlling Machines and Processes, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a construction laborers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $46,730 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $68,084 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $43,657 |
| 25th percentile | $49,256 |
| Median (50th) | $62,320 |
| 75th percentile | $81,106 |
| 90th percentile | $96,969 |
What education do you need?
For Construction Laborers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Coordination, Operations Monitoring, Complex Problem Solving, and knowledge areas including Building and Construction, Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, Customer and Personal Service. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is construction laborers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.1% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -14.4%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -26.7%.
Current U.S. headcount: 1,057,660.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do construction laborerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 1,057,660 | 19.0% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 1,025,290 | 18.4% |
| Construction | 892,690 | 16.1% |
| Specialty Trade Contractors | 390,250 | 7.0% |
| Construction of Buildings | 255,800 | 4.6% |
| Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction | 246,640 | 4.4% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Construction Laborers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Construction Laborers workforce.
Employment Over Time
1,057,660 Workforce in 2023
The Construction Laborers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Construction Laborers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$68,084 Average Wage
In 2023, Construction Laborers earned an average of $68,084.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Construction Laborers.
Salary distribution for Construction Laborers.
Employment Growth Projections
-3.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
289,171 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -14.4%
247,514 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -26.7%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Construction Laborers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Construction Laborers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Construction Laborers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Construction Laborers.
Wage Trends by Industry
7.3% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Construction Laborers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Construction Laborers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 117,580 employees, $40,640 avg wage
- CA: 85,370 employees, $66,140 avg wage
- FL: 75,770 employees, $43,840 avg wage
- NY: 49,890 employees, $65,220 avg wage
- NC: 38,530 employees, $44,210 avg wage
- PA: 38,350 employees, $53,140 avg wage
- IL: 31,960 employees, $69,570 avg wage
- OH: 30,820 employees, $55,390 avg wage
- AZ: 30,310 employees, $47,220 avg wage
- GA: 28,680 employees, $40,410 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Construction Laborers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 44,830 employees, $71,600 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 33,070 employees, $41,860 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 26,320 employees, $41,380 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 23,570 employees, $48,190 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 23,300 employees, $72,780 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 21,240 employees, $64,960 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 18,060 employees, $48,150 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 16,850 employees, $42,230 avg wage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 15,910 employees, $63,800 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 15,760 employees, $45,110 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Construction Laborers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Construction Laborers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Construction Laborers in 2023 was 1,057,660 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Construction Laborers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Construction Laborers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Construction Laborers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Construction Laborers in 2023 were Business Administration, Engineering, Business.
Common majors for Construction Laborers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Construction Laborers workers.
Education level distribution for Construction Laborers.
Skills
Construction Laborers need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Coordination, Operations Monitoring.
Required skills for Construction Laborers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Construction Laborers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Construction Laborers include Building and Construction, Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training.
Knowledge areas required for Construction Laborers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Construction Laborers include Manual Dexterity, Static Strength, Multilimb Coordination, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Trunk Strength.
Required abilities for Construction Laborers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Construction Laborers.
Daily Activities
Construction Laborers spend their time on activities such as Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Getting Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Controlling Machines and Processes, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events.
Most important work activities for Construction Laborers.
About
Construction Laborers
The average yearly wage for Construction Laborers was $68,084 in 2023.
SOC Code
47-2061 - Construction Laborers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Construction Laborers reports an average salary of $68,084.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 1,057,660 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -3.1%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.