On a national level, construction workers earn $19% more than ($47,430) the median wage for all workers ($39,810) annually, according to a new report by Construction Coverage.
To determine which states are best-paying to their construction workers, the report analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For each state, researchers calculated the median wage for construction workers by factoring in cost of living.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total construction spend in the United States hit $667.9 billion in the first half of 2020. While this represents a 5% increase year-over-year, spending has declined by $86 billion since the start of COVID-19. Also, nearly 444,000 construction workers have lost their jobs in that time.
Despite the decline, construction activity has been able to ramp up in some parts of the country and employment numbers have gone up in the past three months.
At the state level, the Midwest claimed the highest median wages for construction workers. After adjusting for cost of living, Illinois ($71,111), Alaska ($61,107), Minnesota ($60,913), Missouri ($58,525) and North Dakota ($57,936) are the Top 5 highest-paying state for construction workers, respectively. The Top 5 state’s that pay their crews the lowest mostly hailed from the South, including Florida ($38,151), Georgia ($42,065), Texas ($42,159), Vermont ($42,184) and Idaho ($42,574), respectively.
In New Jersey, the adjusted median annual wage for all construction workers was $51,866, earning 30.28% more than the average wage of all workers.
Here’s more on New Jersey:
- Median wage for construction workers (unadjusted): $59,750;
- Median wage for all workers (unadjusted): $45,000;
- Number of construction workers: 120,810 (3% of total employment);
- Cost of living: 15.2% above average;
- Atlantic City-Hammonton was ranked No. 11 in the best-paying small metros category;
- Trenton was ranked No. 4 in the best-paying midsize metros category;
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was ranked No. 14 in the best-paying large metros category.
Statistics for the entire United States:
- Median wage for construction workers (adjusted): $47,430;
- Median wage for construction workers (unadjusted): $47,430;
- Median wage for all workers (unadjusted): $39,810;
- Number of construction workers: 6,194,140 (4.2% of total employment).
To see the full report, click here.
