High paying construction jobs in Salem, OR

Every construction occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Salem, OR. 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 Salem, OR run 3.6% above the national average (2024), so a Salem, OR salary is worth about 0.96× 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 Salem, OR

OccupationMedian, Salem, OR · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$101,440
High school diploma or equivalent
$64,110 – $155,100750
2Electricians$98,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$57,630 – $129,0101,000
3Brickmasons and Blockmasons$92,110
High school diploma or equivalent
$64,400 – $99,070120
4Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$80,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,330 – $97,700440
5Glaziers$78,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,760 – $110,040160
6Construction and Building Inspectors$77,540
High school diploma or equivalent
$61,810 – $105,540220
7Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$74,270
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,490 – $117,310750
8Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$67,990
No formal educational credential
$48,990 – $91,590170
9Highway Maintenance Workers$64,550
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,920 – $70,320150
10Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas$62,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,520 – $77,87090
11Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$62,400
No formal educational credential
$36,460 – $112,900200
12Sheet Metal Workers$60,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,030 – $109,480270
13Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$60,290
No formal educational credential
$36,000 – $72,470120
14Carpenters$59,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,360 – $99,3701,720
15Tile and Stone Setters$58,970
No formal educational credential
$35,730 – $78,320100
16Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters$55,370
No formal educational credential
$34,430 – $91,08090
17Construction Laborers$54,500
No formal educational credential
$39,480 – $76,7601,690
18Roofers$52,690
No formal educational credential
$44,970 – $95,700390
19Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$48,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,120 – $64,21080
20Painters, Construction and Maintenance$47,840
No formal educational credential
$38,070 – $61,920670
21Helpers--Electricians$45,170
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,520 – $54,88060

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

#	Occupation	MedianSalem, OR	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$101,440	$64,110 – $155,100	750
2	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$98,850	$57,630 – $129,010	1,000
3	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$92,110	$64,400 – $99,070	120
4	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,610	$48,330 – $97,700	440
5	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,420	$47,760 – $110,040	160
6	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,540	$61,810 – $105,540	220
7	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,270	$56,490 – $117,310	750
8	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$67,990	$48,990 – $91,590	170
9	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,550	$50,920 – $70,320	150
10	Earth Drillers, Except Oil and GasHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,510	$43,520 – $77,870	90
11	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$62,400	$36,460 – $112,900	200
12	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,890	$46,030 – $109,480	270
13	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$60,290	$36,000 – $72,470	120
14	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,730	$37,360 – $99,370	1,720
15	Tile and Stone SettersNo formal educational credential	$58,970	$35,730 – $78,320	100
16	Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble SettersNo formal educational credential	$55,370	$34,430 – $91,080	90
17	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$54,500	$39,480 – $76,760	1,690
18	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$52,690	$44,970 – $95,700	390
19	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,330	$41,120 – $64,210	80
20	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$47,840	$38,070 – $61,920	670
21	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,170	$31,520 – $54,880	60

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

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Salem, OR

More for Salem, OR

Other metro areas in OR

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Without a degree

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