People often think of the construction industry as a single, monolithic entity of laborers in yellow hard hats, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The industry consists of a large number of firms, most of which are small and operate locally, and it spans numerous different occupations, from sheet metal workers to building inspectors to plumbers. An analysis of the latest available data from the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS) shows that wages also reflect this diversity. We do find, however, broad patterns whereby certain occupations consistently pay more than others, and certain cities offer better pay across the board for all construction jobs.
A national comparison of median incomes shows which occupations are most lucrative. At the top of the list with an annual salary of $80,000 are Elevator Installers and Repairers, who make significantly more than the next highest occupation, Supervisors, and more than three times the least paid occupation of Construction Helpers. Elevator Installers and Repairers make nearly twice as much as the national median income of $40,150, thanks to the high-rise boom propelled by demand for offices and residential towers across US cities. Tied for third highest are Boilermakers and Building Inspectors, who each make $55,000, followed closely by Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Operators.
Not every occupation in the construction industry entails physical labor; supervisors manage workers, structural engineers use engineering skills to determine the integrity of a structure, and building inspectors review plans to assess its compliance with building codes. People tend to associate white-collar or office jobs with higher salaries compared to blue-collar or manual labor, but the rankings show that this is not necessarily the case. Working with elevators or boilers requires physical work, but these are among the highest paid jobs in the industry.
There appears to be, however, a relationship between an occupation’s pay grade and the level of skill required. “Occupations that require more training or technical expertise consistently pay higher than those with lower barriers to entry,” says BuildZoom’s Chief Economist, Dr. Issi Romem. The highest-paying occupations often require specialized apprenticeships, licenses or certifications that demonstrate an understanding of the trade and command a premium in the market, such as a grounding in mechanics for elevator technicians, circuitry for electricians, or water systems for boilermakers. Of course, licensing can also serve as a means for controlling the number of people practicing and by reducing the supply of those tradesmen, increase their wages.
Towards the bottom of the list are trades that generally have lower barriers to entry. Floor Installers, Construction Laborers, Drywall Installers, Painters and Roofers are listed on the Bureau of Labor Statistics as having “no formal education credentials” required, while professions with average pay including Pipelayers, Sheet Metal Workers, Glaziers, Insulation Workers, and Carpenters typically require “a high school diploma or equivalent.”1
The ordering of occupations from highest-paid to lowest-paid at the national level also holds true within individual metro areas. The above figure compares median incomes for six common construction trades across the ten largest metro areas in the US. Within any given city, supervisors are paid the most and painters the least, with an overall downward slope. This demonstrates that certain construction occupations are consistently better paid than others across the different cities.
The graph also shows that certain cities generally pay more across all occupations. Chicago, denoted by the upper blue line, catches the eye as having higher wages across the board. Boston, Philadelphia, San Jose and New York also generally pay higher salaries. Towards the bottom of the graph are the cities that pay less for all six construction jobs, including Dallas and Miami. A closer look at individual cities shows how each occupation’s pay in that city compares to the nation.2
Cities With Higher Wages in Construction Occupations
The dropdown bar above shows two examples of cities where wages are higher: San Jose and New York. San Jose consistently pays more than the national median income for every construction trade. The majority of occupations in New York also pay higher than the median, except for elevator installers and sheet metal workers, who each make slightly less. The lower wages for elevator installers in New York may be related to the city’s abundance of tall buildings and an oversupply of technicians. The higher incomes in San Jose and New York suggest they may be related to how expensive it is to live in those cities. The Cost of Living Index measures the difference in the price levels of goods, services, and rent across the US, where 100 is set as the average national cost of living. San Jose and New York have Cost of Living Indexes of 124 and 121, which are respectively the second and fifth most expensive cities in the US.3 “Wages are consistently higher across all construction occupations in certain cities, in line with the cost of living,” summarizes Romem.
Cities With Lower Wages in Construction Occupations
Conversely, Dallas and Miami consistently pay less than the national median across all construction occupations. This may relate to the comparatively lower cost of living in these cities (Dallas has an index of 100 and Miami has an index of 106), which gives people greater purchasing power than expensive cities like San Francisco or New York.
So how do construction occupations rank in your city? Use the dropdown below to display the rankings for your city.
The above rankings and spider charts for large cities are available for download in the links below.
- Download Occupation Rankings By Metro Area
- Download Metro Area Comparisons to National Median
Notes
- According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- In order to accurately compare wages, the above graph includes only the professions for which all 10 cities have data available. The following charts include all occupations in construction for which data is available for that city.
- The Cost of Living Index is from 2015 and taken from the Open Data Network.
Methodology
- Median incomes were calculated using the latest 2016 data from the American Community Survey.
- Only metro areas and occupations which had 30 or more data points were included in this study. Occupations with insufficient data have been omitted.
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