All careersSkilled trades

Construction Laborer

$46,730
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Prepare sites, move materials, operate basic tools, and assist skilled workers on construction jobs.

Where you work

Construction sites, outdoors year-round

The hours

Daytime, weather-dependent, some overtime

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$46,730
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~129,400
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+7%
Faster than average
Working in the U.S.
1,457,000
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

No formal credential

Training path: On-the-job training, paid from day one.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

Physical staminaTool useTeamworkSafety awareness

The honest take

A paid entry into the building trades, and a place to test which skilled craft you want to pursue.

Standard Occupational Classification 47-2061. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.