High paying construction jobs in New York

Every construction occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in New York. 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 New York run 7.9% above the national average (2024), so a New York salary is worth about 0.93× 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 New York.

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

Find construction jobs in New York

OccupationMedian, New York · Employed

1Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers$135,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$78,180 – $168,3703,470
2First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$95,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$61,240 – $140,21029,600
3Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators$87,150
High school diploma or equivalent
$58,580 – $87,4203,590
4Brickmasons and Blockmasons$84,410
High school diploma or equivalent
$60,470 – $127,9803,790
5Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$80,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,190 – $144,92014,490
6Construction and Building Inspectors$79,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,540 – $134,43011,160
7Electricians$78,750
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,740 – $131,64040,130
8Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$77,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,130 – $130,42023,210
9Sheet Metal Workers$73,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,330 – $126,0906,570
10Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$73,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,600 – $99,3204,090
11Carpenters$72,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,860 – $122,40040,630
12Roofers$66,020
No formal educational credential
$47,000 – $95,0404,570
13Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$64,040
No formal educational credential
$49,540 – $102,9709,060
14Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$62,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,450 – $104,3504,530
15Glaziers$61,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,080 – $103,7303,400
16Painters, Construction and Maintenance$59,570
No formal educational credential
$45,660 – $111,55013,040
17Construction Laborers$55,930
No formal educational credential
$34,320 – $96,59052,090
18Highway Maintenance Workers$55,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,150 – $75,69013,820
19Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$52,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,740 – $72,8004,840
20Helpers--Electricians$47,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,190 – $77,4104,120

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

#	Occupation	MedianNew York	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Elevator and Escalator Installers and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$135,720	$78,180 – $168,370	3,470
2	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$95,700	$61,240 – $140,210	29,600
3	Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$87,150	$58,580 – $87,420	3,590
4	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$84,410	$60,470 – $127,980	3,790
5	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,980	$50,190 – $144,920	14,490
6	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,460	$51,540 – $134,430	11,160
7	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,750	$45,740 – $131,640	40,130
8	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,490	$46,130 – $130,420	23,210
9	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,760	$40,330 – $126,090	6,570
10	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,090	$47,600 – $99,320	4,090
11	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$72,330	$46,860 – $122,400	40,630
12	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$66,020	$47,000 – $95,040	4,570
13	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$64,040	$49,540 – $102,970	9,060
14	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,760	$48,450 – $104,350	4,530
15	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,760	$45,080 – $103,730	3,400
16	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$59,570	$45,660 – $111,550	13,040
17	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$55,930	$34,320 – $96,590	52,090
18	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,210	$44,150 – $75,690	13,820
19	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,000	$36,740 – $72,800	4,840
20	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,210	$35,190 – $77,410	4,120

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

Metro areas in New York

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

By field in New York

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in New York

More for New York

Metro areas in New York

By field in New York

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state