High paying construction jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA with no experience

The best paid construction occupations in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA that require neither a degree nor prior experience in a related job. 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA run 8.3% below the national average (2024), so a Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA salary is worth about 1.09× 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

OccupationMedian, Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA · Employed

1Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$75,040
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,720 – $99,5702,150
2Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$70,410
No formal educational credential
$45,180 – $76,920200
3Sheet Metal Workers$66,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,080 – $92,330350
4Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$63,750
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,880 – $81,010150
5Electricians$62,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,740 – $92,6502,870
6Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$62,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,710 – $82,9701,260
7Glaziers$62,590
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,100 – $81,190180
8Carpenters$61,360
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,560 – $76,6701,810
9Highway Maintenance Workers$60,900
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,060 – $75,990560
10Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$59,700
No formal educational credential
$45,380 – $76,760530
11Painters, Construction and Maintenance$57,410
No formal educational credential
$38,550 – $70,190620
12Construction Laborers$49,980
No formal educational credential
$40,080 – $72,3703,510
13Roofers$49,510
No formal educational credential
$37,870 – $68,480280

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

#	Occupation	MedianDes Moines-West Des Moines, IA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,040	$47,720 – $99,570	2,150
2	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$70,410	$45,180 – $76,920	200
3	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$66,000	$44,080 – $92,330	350
4	Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe CleanersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,750	$42,880 – $81,010	150
5	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,840	$39,740 – $92,650	2,870
6	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,610	$46,710 – $82,970	1,260
7	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,590	$46,100 – $81,190	180
8	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,360	$44,560 – $76,670	1,810
9	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,900	$50,060 – $75,990	560
10	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$59,700	$45,380 – $76,760	530
11	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$57,410	$38,550 – $70,190	620
12	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$49,980	$40,080 – $72,370	3,510
13	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$49,510	$37,870 – $68,480	280

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Other metro areas in IA

By field in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA with no experience

More for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Other metro areas in IA

By field in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state with no experience