High paying construction jobs in Colorado with no degree

The best paid construction occupations in Colorado that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Colorado run 3.1% above the national average (2024), so a Colorado salary is worth about 0.97× 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 Colorado.

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

Find construction jobs in Colorado

OccupationMedian, Colorado · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$81,230
High school diploma or equivalent
$59,740 – $122,77021,380
2Construction and Building Inspectors$79,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$54,290 – $121,7403,700
3Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$63,240
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,770 – $100,24010,080
4Carpenters$62,830
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,020 – $90,74012,740
5Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$62,620
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,480 – $78,87011,700
6Glaziers$62,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,290 – $80,7702,040
7Electricians$62,230
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,520 – $94,16017,010
8Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$61,780
No formal educational credential
$44,520 – $79,4601,560
9Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$60,700
No formal educational credential
$46,130 – $75,5405,140
10Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas$60,290
No formal educational credential
$46,490 – $109,2902,930
11Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$59,920
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,800 – $71,8701,400
12Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$58,810
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,610 – $72,650920
13Sheet Metal Workers$57,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,780 – $83,5501,660
14Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers$54,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,870 – $65,3201,160
15Painters, Construction and Maintenance$52,970
No formal educational credential
$40,570 – $77,7103,480
16Highway Maintenance Workers$52,350
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,940 – $66,7801,990
17Roofers$51,750
No formal educational credential
$45,820 – $73,3703,340
18Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$50,800
No formal educational credential
$40,340 – $70,6301,210
19Roustabouts, Oil and Gas$49,050
No formal educational credential
$45,170 – $60,4901,620
20Construction Laborers$47,900
No formal educational credential
$38,410 – $62,01018,680

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

#	Occupation	MedianColorado	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$81,230	$59,740 – $122,770	21,380
2	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,950	$54,290 – $121,740	3,700
3	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,240	$47,770 – $100,240	10,080
4	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,830	$47,020 – $90,740	12,740
5	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,620	$49,480 – $78,870	11,700
6	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,340	$47,290 – $80,770	2,040
7	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,230	$45,520 – $94,160	17,010
8	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$61,780	$44,520 – $79,460	1,560
9	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$60,700	$46,130 – $75,540	5,140
10	Service Unit Operators, Oil and GasNo formal educational credential	$60,290	$46,490 – $109,290	2,930
11	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,920	$44,800 – $71,870	1,400
12	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,810	$43,610 – $72,650	920
13	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,880	$43,780 – $83,550	1,660
14	Miscellaneous Construction and Related WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$54,380	$45,870 – $65,320	1,160
15	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$52,970	$40,570 – $77,710	3,480
16	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,350	$44,940 – $66,780	1,990
17	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$51,750	$45,820 – $73,370	3,340
18	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$50,800	$40,340 – $70,630	1,210
19	Roustabouts, Oil and GasNo formal educational credential	$49,050	$45,170 – $60,490	1,620
20	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$47,900	$38,410 – $62,010	18,680

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

Metro areas in Colorado

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

By field in Colorado

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Colorado with no degree

More for Colorado

Metro areas in Colorado

By field in Colorado

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state with no degree