High paying construction jobs in Rapid City, SD

Every construction occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Rapid City, SD. 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 Rapid City, SD run 10.8% below the national average (2024), so a Rapid City, SD salary is worth about 1.12× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

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

Find construction jobs in Rapid City, SD

OccupationMedian, Rapid City, SD · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$77,900
High school diploma or equivalent
$60,790 – $97,760470
2Construction and Building Inspectors$72,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,720 – $91,56040
3Electricians$61,160
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,540 – $78,540460
4Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$60,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,630 – $75,240410
5Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$55,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,530 – $74,450360
6Pipelayers$50,650
No formal educational credential
$38,140 – $59,09070
7Highway Maintenance Workers$49,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,720 – $61,820190
8Structural Iron and Steel Workers$49,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,380 – $71,510170
9Carpenters$48,640
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,750 – $63,400870
10Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$48,300
No formal educational credential
$36,530 – $63,290470
11Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$47,980
No formal educational credential
$38,480 – $58,30060
12Painters, Construction and Maintenance$46,900
No formal educational credential
$34,840 – $64,660110
13Glaziers$46,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,920 – $60,35090
14Roofers$46,510
No formal educational credential
$34,410 – $60,230120
15Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$45,760
No formal educational credential
$36,510 – $59,03040
16Construction Laborers$45,630
No formal educational credential
$35,830 – $51,120410
17Sheet Metal Workers$44,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,550 – $64,06070
18Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$36,110
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,000 – $37,50060
19Helpers--Electricians$35,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,110 – $42,38050
20Helpers--Carpenters$30,900
No formal educational credential
$28,490 – $45,55040

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

#	Occupation	MedianRapid City, SD	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,900	$60,790 – $97,760	470
2	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$72,470	$49,720 – $91,560	40
3	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,160	$40,540 – $78,540	460
4	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,660	$48,630 – $75,240	410
5	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,850	$39,530 – $74,450	360
6	PipelayersNo formal educational credential	$50,650	$38,140 – $59,090	70
7	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,490	$41,720 – $61,820	190
8	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,100	$45,380 – $71,510	170
9	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,640	$37,750 – $63,400	870
10	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$48,300	$36,530 – $63,290	470
11	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$47,980	$38,480 – $58,300	60
12	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$46,900	$34,840 – $64,660	110
13	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,820	$42,920 – $60,350	90
14	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$46,510	$34,410 – $60,230	120
15	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$45,760	$36,510 – $59,030	40
16	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$45,630	$35,830 – $51,120	410
17	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,280	$37,550 – $64,060	70
18	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,110	$32,000 – $37,500	60
19	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,000	$31,110 – $42,380	50
20	Helpers--CarpentersNo formal educational credential	$30,900	$28,490 – $45,550	40

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Rapid City, SD. 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.

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

High paying construction jobs in Rapid City, SD

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