High paying construction jobs in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA with no degree

The best paid construction occupations in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 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 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA run 5.4% above the national average (2024), so a Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA salary is worth about 0.95× 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 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

OccupationMedian, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$112,480
High school diploma or equivalent
$71,750 – $159,9205,880
2Electricians$105,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$60,360 – $134,3807,340
3Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$101,010
High school diploma or equivalent
$57,640 – $147,1004,600
4Structural Iron and Steel Workers$98,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$62,310 – $123,710410
5Construction and Building Inspectors$93,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$64,600 – $123,7801,200
6Brickmasons and Blockmasons$81,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$55,740 – $102,760400
7Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$81,100
No formal educational credential
$39,010 – $119,2501,100
8Sheet Metal Workers$79,570
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,980 – $127,4502,280
9Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$79,040
High school diploma or equivalent
$59,520 – $123,2903,040
10Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$75,090
No formal educational credential
$49,550 – $99,4301,410
11Glaziers$73,860
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,430 – $108,550390
12Carpenters$73,710
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,440 – $108,4409,210
13Highway Maintenance Workers$65,300
High school diploma or equivalent
$54,420 – $75,100550
14Tile and Stone Setters$61,900
No formal educational credential
$43,860 – $84,330390
15Roofers$61,210
No formal educational credential
$48,520 – $96,7402,280
16Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$60,960
No formal educational credential
$37,350 – $98,680450
17Construction Laborers$54,240
No formal educational credential
$38,990 – $82,7007,950
18Painters, Construction and Maintenance$53,280
No formal educational credential
$38,990 – $73,8603,540
19Helpers--Electricians$52,690
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,840 – $72,790430
20Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$49,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,220 – $63,820840

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

#	Occupation	MedianPortland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$112,480	$71,750 – $159,920	5,880
2	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$105,090	$60,360 – $134,380	7,340
3	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$101,010	$57,640 – $147,100	4,600
4	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$98,120	$62,310 – $123,710	410
5	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$93,340	$64,600 – $123,780	1,200
6	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$81,700	$55,740 – $102,760	400
7	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$81,100	$39,010 – $119,250	1,100
8	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,570	$49,980 – $127,450	2,280
9	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,040	$59,520 – $123,290	3,040
10	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$75,090	$49,550 – $99,430	1,410
11	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,860	$47,430 – $108,550	390
12	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,710	$47,440 – $108,440	9,210
13	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,300	$54,420 – $75,100	550
14	Tile and Stone SettersNo formal educational credential	$61,900	$43,860 – $84,330	390
15	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$61,210	$48,520 – $96,740	2,280
16	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$60,960	$37,350 – $98,680	450
17	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$54,240	$38,990 – $82,700	7,950
18	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$53,280	$38,990 – $73,860	3,540
19	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,690	$39,840 – $72,790	430
20	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,950	$44,220 – $63,820	840

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA. 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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Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA with no degree

More for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

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By field in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Without a degree

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