Construction Industry Annual Salary More Than the US Median Wage
The median wage in the U.S. is below $37,000.00 a year. The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), a study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), reports that half of the construction workers in the country make more than $45,820.
The construction trade’s tops income producers are elevator installers. According to the OES half earn over $79,000 a year with the top
25% pulling in $98,890. The second top paying jobs are rotary drill operators making close to $70,000 and third highest paid are the boilermakers making over $65,380.
Most of the top paying crafts in construction require formal education, specialized training or licensing. Building inspectors (median wages $58,300), electricians and plumbers (both earning over $52,000) make up these craftsmen. Carpenters require less formal education and make up most of the jobs in the industry. As mentioned earlier, the median wage earned was over $45,370 with the highest paid 25% making $60,470 per year.
Within the construction industry OES publishes wages for approximately 380 occupations in construction that include not only the construction trade but workers in finance, sales, administration, and other off-site activities. The highest paid occupation is the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) who pull in an average of over $167,000 a year, after that the Petroleum engineers make a median wage of $159,330, lawyers at $134,010, flight engineers come in with $127,130, and architectural and engineering managers earn an average of over $124,030.
