For the past year, Construction Junkie has been analyzing hourly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 25 different construction related professions. The goal was to highlight how workers were compensated in each of the U.S.’ 50 states.
We also counterbalanced the raw hourly wage data with the cost of living index of the states to determine how the pay construction workers in each state was counterbalanced by the cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and other miscellaneous costs. All cost of living adjustment data came from Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC).
We’ve previously published a list of The 10 Highest Paid Construction Jobs That Only Require High School Diploma, but we thought it would be interesting to examine each state individually to find out where construction workers can live most comfortably.
To follow along with our state-by-state breakdown of best states to work in construction, click here.
Rankings System
For the purpose of this list, each state’s ranking was determined by calculating the average ranking of hourly wages after being adjusted for cost of living for each of the 25 professions we examined. There are, of course, many ways to determine how good a state is to work in, but, at the end of the day, all workers have to be able to provide for them and their families, so wages should play a large role. If you see a state ranked #51 in a certain category, that is because Washington DC was included in the original data set, but was not included in this series.
#24 Colorado
The first state to be on the right side of our countdown is the Centennial State: Colorado. It received it’s nickname after becoming an official state 100 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Colorado is one of the few states located in the Mountain time zone with a higher than average cost of living, at 2.9% higher. Nevertheless, it still surpassed many of its time zone brethren in our countdown. Although it’s relatively high ranking, the more traditional and more popular trades, like carpenters, electricians, masons, and plumbers all ranked at or below average on the overall pay scale.
If you’d like to see the breakdown of a specific profession, click the link the spreadsheet below:
Best Construction Jobs in Colorado
This list is determined by selecting the jobs that were ranked the highest:
1. Solar Panel Installer
2. Construction Building Inspector
3. Welder
T 4. Floor Layer
T 4. Elevator Installer
Worst Construction Jobs in Colorado
This list is determined by selecting the jobs ranked the lowest:
1. Insulation Worker
T 2. Plumber
T 2. Roofer
4. Electrician
5. Sheet Metal Worker
Welders are essential on many construction jobs throughout the US, especially in bridge construction and high rise buildings. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers into one category, but their jobs essentially boil down to joining and cutting metal.