High paying construction jobs in Richmond, VA

Every construction occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Richmond, VA. 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 Richmond, VA run 2.1% below the national average (2024), so a Richmond, VA salary is worth about 1.02× 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 Richmond, VA

OccupationMedian, Richmond, VA · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$76,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$53,000 – $108,2204,460
2Construction and Building Inspectors$70,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,580 – $120,3901,140
3Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$61,480
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,420 – $77,4902,340
4Electricians$61,350
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,070 – $80,7403,600
5Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$55,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,650 – $74,4002,220
6Highway Maintenance Workers$53,770
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,490 – $61,990390
7Carpenters$51,870
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,990 – $69,6403,070
8Brickmasons and Blockmasons$51,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,190 – $61,520430
9Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$49,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,610 – $60,350250
10Insulation Workers, Mechanical$49,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,100 – $58,080410
11Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$49,260
No formal educational credential
$40,400 – $60,410360
12Pipelayers$48,700
No formal educational credential
$39,320 – $59,160240
13Roofers$48,050
No formal educational credential
$39,620 – $61,140330
14Sheet Metal Workers$48,010
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,510 – $75,550610
15Painters, Construction and Maintenance$47,670
No formal educational credential
$36,790 – $59,2801,010
16Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$45,670
No formal educational credential
$37,710 – $64,310630
17Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$45,190
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,560 – $57,250250
18Helpers--Electricians$43,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,170 – $54,140410
19Helpers--Carpenters$42,660
No formal educational credential
$33,020 – $57,140280
20Construction Laborers$42,410
No formal educational credential
$32,480 – $53,1904,560
21Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$37,990
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,000 – $48,090370

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

#	Occupation	MedianRichmond, VA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,630	$53,000 – $108,220	4,460
2	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$70,790	$49,580 – $120,390	1,140
3	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,480	$44,420 – $77,490	2,340
4	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,350	$39,070 – $80,740	3,600
5	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,280	$40,650 – $74,400	2,220
6	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,770	$42,490 – $61,990	390
7	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,870	$37,990 – $69,640	3,070
8	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,800	$40,190 – $61,520	430
9	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,880	$37,610 – $60,350	250
10	Insulation Workers, MechanicalHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,460	$38,100 – $58,080	410
11	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$49,260	$40,400 – $60,410	360
12	PipelayersNo formal educational credential	$48,700	$39,320 – $59,160	240
13	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$48,050	$39,620 – $61,140	330
14	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,010	$36,510 – $75,550	610
15	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$47,670	$36,790 – $59,280	1,010
16	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$45,670	$37,710 – $64,310	630
17	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,190	$36,560 – $57,250	250
18	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,510	$33,170 – $54,140	410
19	Helpers--CarpentersNo formal educational credential	$42,660	$33,020 – $57,140	280
20	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$42,410	$32,480 – $53,190	4,560
21	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,990	$32,000 – $48,090	370

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Richmond, VA. 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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By field in Richmond, VA

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Richmond, VA

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