High paying construction jobs in Iowa

Every construction occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Iowa. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single construction job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Iowa run 12.2% below the national average (2024), so a Iowa salary is worth about 1.14× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Iowa.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find construction jobs in Iowa

OccupationMedian, Iowa · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$78,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,660 – $105,9609,660
2Construction and Building Inspectors$71,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,470 – $90,3801,140
3Sheet Metal Workers$66,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,770 – $91,4501,650
4Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$63,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,510 – $97,5005,730
5Electricians$60,860
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,770 – $89,48010,310
6Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$60,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,690 – $87,4605,530
7Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$59,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,600 – $63,590560
8Highway Maintenance Workers$58,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,380 – $67,9804,000
9Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$58,220
No formal educational credential
$40,910 – $74,1802,110
10Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$57,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,650 – $72,660630
11Carpenters$57,710
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,040 – $76,5405,770
12Painters, Construction and Maintenance$49,710
No formal educational credential
$37,080 – $67,0101,770
13Roofers$48,660
No formal educational credential
$37,070 – $65,010930
14Construction Laborers$48,490
No formal educational credential
$38,180 – $68,90013,780

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianIowa	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,510	$56,660 – $105,960	9,660
2	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$71,630	$47,470 – $90,380	1,140
3	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$66,460	$43,770 – $91,450	1,650
4	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,890	$45,510 – $97,500	5,730
5	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,860	$39,770 – $89,480	10,310
6	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,330	$46,690 – $87,460	5,530
7	Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface MiningHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,390	$41,600 – $63,590	560
8	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,490	$47,380 – $67,980	4,000
9	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$58,220	$40,910 – $74,180	2,110
10	Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe CleanersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,980	$40,650 – $72,660	630
11	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,710	$39,040 – $76,540	5,770
12	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$49,710	$37,080 – $67,010	1,770
13	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$48,660	$37,070 – $65,010	930
14	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$48,490	$38,180 – $68,900	13,780

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Iowa. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in Iowa

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Iowa to rank honestly.

High paying construction jobs in Iowa

More for Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa

By field in Iowa

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state