Construction · FF-004
Construction Workforce & Pay
Explore the size, pay, occupations, and geographic concentration of the U.S. construction and extraction workforce.
Occupation comparison
Largest construction occupations
Top selected construction occupations from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
What the data shows
A large workforce with wide variation in pay
Geographic concentration
Construction is especially concentrated in several energy- and growth-oriented metros
Percent of local employment in construction and extraction occupations, May 2025.
For context, construction and extraction occupations represented 4.1% of U.S. employment nationally.
State employment leaders
Largest state construction workforces
Latest official BLS state ranking used here is May 2024. National occupation KPIs above use May 2025.
Occupation table
Explore employment and pay benchmarks
Click a column heading to sort.
| Occupation ↕ | Employment ↕ | Annual mean wage ↕ | Median hourly wage ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers | 1,096,780 | $52,030 | $22.66 |
| First-line supervisors | 812,210 | $86,450 | $38.42 |
| Electricians | 757,220 | $71,490 | $30.38 |
| Carpenters | 670,090 | $65,630 | $29.12 |
| Construction equipment operators | 522,210 | $65,770 | $28.66 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters & steamfitters | 465,840 | $72,170 | $30.67 |
| Painters, construction & maintenance | 225,190 | $55,420 | $23.75 |
| Cement masons & concrete finishers | 206,170 | $60,050 | $27.41 |
| Construction & building inspectors | 146,720 | $77,730 | $35.91 |
| Roofers | 135,490 | $58,140 | $26.65 |
| Sheet metal workers | 119,770 | $67,850 | $29.71 |
| Elevator & escalator installers/repairers | 23,790 | $109,820 | $52.84 |
Methodology & source
About these figures
CalculateMeasure uses published estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. OEWS measures wage and salary employment and wages by occupation. The national figures and occupation benchmarks on this page use May 2025 estimates. The state employment ranking uses the BLS May 2024 state chart because it is retained here as a separately labeled official state comparison. OEWS estimates do not include self-employed workers.
Primary sources: BLS May 2025 release · National occupation table · Metro concentration data · May 2024 state employment ranking.
CalculateMeasure refresh: Aug. 22, 2026 · Review cadence: Annual, after the next OEWS release.
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