High paying construction jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC with no degree

The best paid construction occupations in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC run 2.1% below the national average (2024), so a Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

OccupationMedian, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$80,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$55,110 – $99,5106,140
2Construction and Building Inspectors$64,710
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,810 – $91,2301,260
3Sheet Metal Workers$63,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,090 – $73,7002,080
4Electricians$62,350
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,970 – $81,2805,740
5Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$61,870
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,720 – $75,4105,100
6Structural Iron and Steel Workers$58,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,560 – $74,250700
7Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$52,060
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,500 – $73,7002,150
8Carpenters$51,500
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,940 – $73,4604,020
9Brickmasons and Blockmasons$50,370
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,250 – $60,050400
10Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$49,580
No formal educational credential
$37,690 – $72,680790
11Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$48,920
No formal educational credential
$39,040 – $57,310270
12Highway Maintenance Workers$48,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,290 – $61,000270
13Pipelayers$47,820
No formal educational credential
$37,020 – $62,140260
14Painters, Construction and Maintenance$47,110
No formal educational credential
$34,850 – $72,0501,610
15Roofers$46,480
No formal educational credential
$39,020 – $58,510350
16Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$46,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,510 – $58,690340
17Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$46,060
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,030 – $61,190290
18Helpers--Electricians$44,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,520 – $65,070450
19Construction Laborers$38,490
No formal educational credential
$30,580 – $49,3605,660
20Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$35,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,980 – $46,760380

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

#	Occupation	MedianVirginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,950	$55,110 – $99,510	6,140
2	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,710	$49,810 – $91,230	1,260
3	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,390	$38,090 – $73,700	2,080
4	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,350	$43,970 – $81,280	5,740
5	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,870	$45,720 – $75,410	5,100
6	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,630	$47,560 – $74,250	700
7	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,060	$39,500 – $73,700	2,150
8	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,500	$38,940 – $73,460	4,020
9	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,370	$39,250 – $60,050	400
10	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$49,580	$37,690 – $72,680	790
11	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$48,920	$39,040 – $57,310	270
12	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,720	$36,290 – $61,000	270
13	PipelayersNo formal educational credential	$47,820	$37,020 – $62,140	260
14	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$47,110	$34,850 – $72,050	1,610
15	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$46,480	$39,020 – $58,510	350
16	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,320	$38,510 – $58,690	340
17	Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe CleanersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,060	$37,030 – $61,190	290
18	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,530	$34,520 – $65,070	450
19	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$38,490	$30,580 – $49,360	5,660
20	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,630	$29,980 – $46,760	380

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. 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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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC to rank honestly.

High paying construction jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC with no degree

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