High paying construction jobs in Kentucky

Every construction occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Kentucky. 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 Kentucky run 9.8% below the national average (2024), so a Kentucky salary is worth about 1.11× 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 Kentucky.

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

Find construction jobs in Kentucky

OccupationMedian, Kentucky · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$73,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,750 – $99,6309,620
2Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$64,160
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,860 – $94,7106,360
3Structural Iron and Steel Workers$64,060
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,240 – $98,360990
4Sheet Metal Workers$60,680
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,570 – $85,3102,210
5Construction and Building Inspectors$60,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,140 – $97,6701,380
6Brickmasons and Blockmasons$59,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,650 – $77,920780
7Electricians$59,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,110 – $85,26011,030
8Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$57,780
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,620 – $80,8907,050
9Carpenters$52,680
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,760 – $72,9608,540
10Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$50,200
No formal educational credential
$37,490 – $67,5301,280
11Painters, Construction and Maintenance$48,110
No formal educational credential
$35,900 – $64,7201,390
12Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$47,780
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,210 – $68,390790
13Roofers$46,940
No formal educational credential
$38,220 – $65,4701,080
14Construction Laborers$45,710
No formal educational credential
$33,770 – $60,20013,280
15Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$43,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,420 – $48,540960
16Helpers--Electricians$42,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,350 – $50,760690
17Highway Maintenance Workers$40,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,030 – $50,7503,030

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

#	Occupation	MedianKentucky	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,490	$46,750 – $99,630	9,620
2	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,160	$44,860 – $94,710	6,360
3	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,060	$48,240 – $98,360	990
4	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,680	$40,570 – $85,310	2,210
5	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,200	$37,140 – $97,670	1,380
6	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,820	$36,650 – $77,920	780
7	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,720	$37,110 – $85,260	11,030
8	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,780	$44,620 – $80,890	7,050
9	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,680	$36,760 – $72,960	8,540
10	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$50,200	$37,490 – $67,530	1,280
11	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$48,110	$35,900 – $64,720	1,390
12	Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface MiningHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,780	$37,210 – $68,390	790
13	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$46,940	$38,220 – $65,470	1,080
14	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$45,710	$33,770 – $60,200	13,280
15	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,330	$33,420 – $48,540	960
16	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,790	$35,350 – $50,760	690
17	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,400	$30,030 – $50,750	3,030

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Kentucky. 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 Kentucky

Metro areas in Kentucky

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

By field in Kentucky

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Kentucky

More for Kentucky

Metro areas in Kentucky

By field in Kentucky

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state