The Top States to Work in Construction: #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.

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The Top States to Work in Construction: #25 Tennessee

At long last, we have reached the midway point on our countdown and the state of Tennessee has the honor of establishing the national average. Tennessee’s wage number rankings are pretty steady across the board, with the only outliers being Security and Fire Systems Installers ranked #4 and Glaziers ranked #35.

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OSHA Fines 5 Contractors Involved with Florida Pedestrian Bridge Collapse

As other organizations, like the NTSB, are busy analyzing the root cause of the pedestrian bridge collapse that killed 6 people and injured 8 others in Florida in March, OSHA has finished their investigation and issued safety violations to 5 different contractors.

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The Top States to Work in Construction: #26 Utah

Like many of the states in the Mountain time zone, Utah has a relatively large area of land, but has a low population compared to the average state. That may be changing in the coming years, as the US Census data has shown that Utah has the 2nd fastest growing population in the country as of 2013.

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San Fran’s Sinking, Tilting Tower Suffers Cracked Window 36-Stories High

Over 2 years ago, concern began to grow when it was discovered that the 58-story high Millennium Tower in San Francisco had settled 16 inches and tilted 2 inches, after just 8 years of being open. The latest reports, according to NBC Bay Area, say that the building is now tilting 18 inches, when measured at the top. That stress on the curtain wall may have caused a 36-story window to crack.

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The Top States to Work in Construction: #27 Georgia

Georgia is located in one of the hottest regions for construction activity, the Southeastern Region. Atlanta, in particular, has experienced a bit of a construction boom recently, which could spell some pay increases for workers across they state, as the labor shortage is still a problem.

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US Department of Labor Launches New Apprenticeship Finder Tool for Career Seekers, Employers

For the past several years, workforce shortages have been a constant headline in the construction industry.  A large contingency of the skilled labor in the United States is retiring and the younger generations aren’t filling in as quickly as needed. 

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The Top States to Work in Construction: #28 Nebraska

Nebraska top states to work in construction

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.

#28 Nebraska

Like Montana, which is ranked #30, Nebraska is another state with a high total land area and a smaller population.  Unlike Montana, Nebraska has a lower-than-average cost of living, at 8.2% lower than the national average, according to MERIC. 

Nebraska has two construction professions in the top 10, including brick & block masons and floor layers. They also do not have any profession ranked lower than 39, which is reserved for carpenters. 

If you’d like to see the breakdown of a specific profession, click the link the spreadsheet below:

Best Construction Jobs in Nebraska

This list is determined by selecting the jobs that were ranked the highest:

1. Floor Layer

2. Brick & Block Mason

3. Plumber

4. Construction Manager

5. Sheet Metal Worker

Worst Construction Jobs in Nebraska

This list is determined by selecting the jobs ranked the lowest:

1. Carpenter

2. Iron & Steel Worker

3. Security and Fire Systems Installer

4. Crane Operator

5. Heavy Equipment Operator

Featured
welder
Average Hourly Wage of Welders, By State

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. 

fire sprinkler
Average Hourly Wage of Security and Fire Systems Installers, By State

I had a request to cover fire suppression system installers on our weekly look at hourly wage data, but unfortunately the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't specifically break that profession out separately.  They do, however, have a category called Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers, which I believe will cover the category.

elevators
Average Hourly Wage of Elevator Installers, By State

Elevator installers and repairers do exactly that, install and repair elevators. As specific as the job is, it's actually the highest paid construction trade that doesn't require anything more than a high school diploma. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that the job outlook for the profession is expected to increase by 12% through the year 2026, which is higher than average.

iron-rods-reinforcing-bars-rods-steel-bars
Average Hourly Wage of Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, By State

Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, commonly referred to as "rod busters,"  are responsible for positioning and tying reinforcing steel rebar, cables, and mesh for use in concrete. Rebar workers are usually also responsible for bending and cutting the reinforcement material.

trench
Average Hourly Wage of Pipelayers, By State

Pipelayers, common teammates of heavy equipment operators, are responsible for laying pipe for storm, sanitary, or water systems. Pipelayers can work with a variety of different materials, including reinforced concrete panels (RCP), ductile iron, HDPE, and PVC. This is considered more of an exterior site work task, as opposed to plumbers, who run the piping on the interior side of buildings.  

concrete truck
Average Hourly Wage of Concrete Finishers, By State

Concrete finishers smooth and finish concrete surfaces like curbs, floors, and roads. Most are also responsible for cutting control and expansion joints as the concrete hardens.  OSHA's new silica dust regulations have added an additional wrinkle to the concrete finishers job, as they are now required to greatly limit their exposure to silica containing dust. 

Construction Cranes
Average Hourly Wage of Crane Operators, By State

Cranes can be some of the most dangerous pieces of equipment on any construction jobsite.  Not only do workers need to worry about working underneath loads being suspended by cranes, operators need to exercise extreme caution when working with heavy loads and extreme weather conditions.  Cranes are also pivotal in efficiently building multi-story buildings, especially high rise and supertall buildings.  The profession itself, at least for tower crane operators, can be fairly lonely though, as there's no buddy system up in the cab.  The long commute up to the top also restricts the amount of time operators can take breaks. 

floor
Average Hourly Wage of Floor Layers, By State

Floor layers are broken out into several different categories and this data pull specifically highlights "floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles."  This category most likely encapsulates vinyl tile or linoleum installations, whether they be strips, blocks, or sheets.  

insulation
Average Hourly Wage of Insulation Workers, By State

Insulation workers, specifically those that install floor, ceiling, and wall insulation typically learn their trade on the job.  Whether installing more traditional fiberglass insulation or spray foam insulation, these types of workers almost exclusively work indoors. Although there are also mechanical insulation workers, their numbers are broken out separately, as they make an average of $10,000 per year more than floor, wall, and ceiling insulators.

Solar Panels
Average Hourly Wage of Solar Panel Installers, By State

The solar photo-voltaic panel installation profession is one of the newest jobs on the construction site.  It's also considered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to be one of the fastest growing professions across any industry.  From 2016 to 2026, the BLS expects employment to rise 105 percent, when the average is only around 5 percent.

The Top States to Work in Construction: #29 Oklahoma

Oklahoma fans may have high hopes of being #1 in college football this season, but they've landed just outside of the top 25 on our countdown. With a 10.2% lower than average cost of living, Oklahoma effectively jumped up 12 spots on our list after adjustment. 

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