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Highest Paying Construction Jobs
The highest paying construction job is elevator and escalator installer and repairer, with a median salary of $109,910 a year, followed by first-line supervisor of construction trades and extraction workers ($79,920) and construction and building inspector ($74,690). All 34 construction jobs below are ranked by median pay from the latest BLS wage survey (May 2025).
Highest Paying Construction Jobs, ranked
of 34 jobs match.
| # | Job | Median | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elevator and escalator installer and repairer Construction and Extraction | $109,910 | $52.84 | $158,890 | High school diploma | 23,790 |
| 2 | First-line supervisor of construction trades and extraction workers Construction and Extraction | $79,920 | $38.42 | $128,260 | High school diploma | 812,210 |
| 3 | Construction and building inspector Construction and Extraction | $74,690 | $35.91 | $114,200 | High school diploma | 146,720 |
| 4 | Plumber Construction and Extraction | $63,800 | $30.67 | $108,420 | High school diploma | 465,840 |
| 5 | Electrician Construction and Extraction | $63,190 | $30.38 | $108,510 | High school diploma | 757,220 |
| 6 | Structural iron and steel worker Construction and Extraction | $62,780 | $30.18 | $108,260 | High school diploma | 68,380 |
| 7 | Brickmason and blockmason Construction and Extraction | $62,120 | $29.87 | $100,010 | High school diploma | 52,550 |
| 8 | Sheet metal worker Construction and Extraction | $61,800 | $29.71 | $105,650 | High school diploma | 119,770 |
| 9 | Carpenter Construction and Extraction | $60,580 | $29.12 | $99,910 | High school diploma | 670,090 |
| 10 | Heavy equipment operator Construction and Extraction | $59,850 | $28.78 | $101,090 | High school diploma | 478,090 |
| 11 | Drywall and ceiling tile installer Construction and Extraction | $58,930 | $28.33 | $102,010 | No formal education | 83,080 |
| 12 | Insulation worker, mechanical Construction and Extraction | $58,340 | $28.05 | $100,220 | High school diploma | 25,660 |
| 13 | Service unit operator, oil and gas Construction and Extraction | $58,160 | $27.96 | $97,560 | No formal education | 43,140 |
| 14 | Excavating and loading machine and dragline operator, surface mining Construction and Extraction | $57,430 | $27.61 | $82,400 | High school diploma | 34,480 |
| 15 | Glazier Construction and Extraction | $57,080 | $27.44 | $89,790 | High school diploma | 58,480 |
| 16 | Cement mason and concrete finisher Construction and Extraction | $57,020 | $27.41 | $85,480 | No formal education | 206,170 |
| 17 | Floor layer Construction and Extraction | $56,460 | $27.15 | $96,700 | No formal education | 23,640 |
| 18 | Tile and stone setter Construction and Extraction | $55,690 | $26.77 | $86,110 | No formal education | 35,850 |
| 19 | Roofer Construction and Extraction | $55,440 | $26.65 | $81,720 | No formal education | 135,490 |
| 20 | Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operator Construction and Extraction | $53,340 | $25.64 | $92,230 | High school diploma | 41,820 |
| 21 | Solar photovoltaic installer Construction and Extraction | $53,140 | $25.55 | $79,970 | High school diploma | 31,350 |
| 22 | Highway maintenance worker Construction and Extraction | $50,260 | $24.16 | $71,970 | High school diploma | 154,960 |
| 23 | Miscellaneous construction and related worker Construction and Extraction | $49,910 | $24.00 | $78,700 | High school diploma | 28,380 |
| 24 | Septic tank servicer and sewer pipe cleaner Construction and Extraction | $49,880 | $23.98 | $73,490 | High school diploma | 30,650 |
| 25 | Hazardous materials removal worker Construction and Extraction | $49,450 | $23.78 | $82,410 | High school diploma | 51,710 |
| 26 | Painter, construction and maintenance Construction and Extraction | $49,400 | $23.75 | $78,810 | No formal education | 225,190 |
| 27 | Insulation worker, floor, ceiling, and wall Construction and Extraction | $49,120 | $23.62 | $78,190 | No formal education | 44,440 |
| 28 | Pipelayer Construction and Extraction | $49,000 | $23.56 | $80,170 | No formal education | 33,050 |
| 29 | Fence erector Construction and Extraction | $47,980 | $23.07 | $70,010 | No formal education | 24,480 |
| 30 | Construction laborer Construction and Extraction | $47,120 | $22.66 | $78,090 | No formal education | 1,096,780 |
| 31 | Roustabout, oil and gas Construction and Extraction | $46,960 | $22.58 | $64,530 | No formal education | 44,970 |
| 32 | Carpenter helper Construction and Extraction | $43,780 | $21.05 | $57,670 | No formal education | 21,680 |
| 33 | Electrician helper Construction and Extraction | $42,670 | $20.51 | $58,340 | High school diploma | 63,630 |
| 34 | Pipelayer, plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter helper Construction and Extraction | $42,360 | $20.36 | $57,780 | High school diploma | 44,330 |
No job matches those filters.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published 2026), and Employment Projections education and training assignments (2025). Salaries are yearly medians before tax for wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. The median for all US jobs is $50,980. Jobs with fewer than 20,000 workers nationally are not listed.
About the Highest Paying Jobs
Highest Paying Jobs ranks 515 US jobs by what they actually pay, using the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025, published 2026). Filter the list by field, by the education a job needs to start, or by a minimum salary, and sort it by median pay, average pay, what the top 10% earn, hourly wage or the number of people in the job. Ready-made rankings answer the common questions: the highest paying jobs without a degree, with only a high school diploma, with an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree, entry-level and trade jobs, the best-paid jobs in healthcare, tech, engineering and ten other fields, and the highest paying jobs in each of the 50 states and Washington DC. Every job links to its own salary page with hourly pay, the full pay range and pay by state.
How to use it
- 1 Start with the full ranking, or pick a ready-made list such as jobs without a degree, a field or your state.
- 2 Narrow it down with the field, education and minimum pay filters, or search for a job.
- 3 Sort by median salary, top 10% pay, hourly wage or most workers.
- 4 Open any job to see its pay range, hourly and monthly pay and salary in every state.
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest paying construction job?
Elevator and escalator installer and repairer pays the most, with a median salary of $109,910 a year. The top three are elevator and escalator installer and repairer ($109,910), first-line supervisor of construction trades and extraction workers ($79,920), construction and building inspector ($74,690).
How many construction jobs pay over $100,000?
1 of the 34 construction jobs have a median salary of $100,000 or more a year.
Which well-paid construction job has the most openings?
First-line supervisor of construction trades and extraction workers employs the most people among the best-paid construction jobs, with about 812,210 workers and a median salary of $79,920. More people in a job usually means more openings each year.
Which construction job pays the most per hour?
Elevator and escalator installer and repairer has the highest median hourly wage, $52.84 an hour. Some jobs, such as teachers, are paid by the year only and have no hourly figure.
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