High paying construction jobs in Rhode Island

Every construction occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Rhode Island. 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 Rhode Island run 2.3% above the national average (2024), so a Rhode Island salary is worth about 0.98× 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 Rhode Island.

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

Find construction jobs in Rhode Island

OccupationMedian, Rhode Island · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$98,590
High school diploma or equivalent
$58,240 – $131,8902,060
2Structural Iron and Steel Workers$98,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$65,500 – $98,330360
3Brickmasons and Blockmasons$79,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,900 – $111,180220
4Construction and Building Inspectors$77,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$57,950 – $110,940270
5Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$76,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,680 – $110,3601,820
6Electricians$74,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,990 – $102,8402,420
7Sheet Metal Workers$65,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,670 – $81,980370
8Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$63,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$52,460 – $98,870970
9Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$63,060
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,390 – $85,530160
10Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$62,950
No formal educational credential
$49,220 – $94,110250
11Glaziers$61,650
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,500 – $99,570150
12Roofers$61,630
No formal educational credential
$43,450 – $93,740360
13Carpenters$60,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,840 – $89,6702,580
14Highway Maintenance Workers$57,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,480 – $63,910620
15Construction Laborers$57,240
No formal educational credential
$39,480 – $88,6202,110
16Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$47,110
No formal educational credential
$38,090 – $79,510440
17Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$46,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,400 – $79,710330
18Painters, Construction and Maintenance$41,590
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $64,4101,160

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

#	Occupation	MedianRhode Island	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$98,590	$58,240 – $131,890	2,060
2	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$98,320	$65,500 – $98,330	360
3	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,280	$51,900 – $111,180	220
4	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,420	$57,950 – $110,940	270
5	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,470	$49,680 – $110,360	1,820
6	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,090	$42,990 – $102,840	2,420
7	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,100	$42,670 – $81,980	370
8	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,610	$52,460 – $98,870	970
9	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,060	$48,390 – $85,530	160
10	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$62,950	$49,220 – $94,110	250
11	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,650	$47,500 – $99,570	150
12	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$61,630	$43,450 – $93,740	360
13	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,840	$47,840 – $89,670	2,580
14	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,950	$46,480 – $63,910	620
15	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$57,240	$39,480 – $88,620	2,110
16	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$47,110	$38,090 – $79,510	440
17	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,670	$40,400 – $79,710	330
18	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$41,590	$31,200 – $64,410	1,160

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

Metro areas in Rhode Island

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

Providence-Warwick

By field in Rhode Island

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Rhode Island

More for Rhode Island

Metro areas in Rhode Island

By field in Rhode Island

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state