High paying construction jobs in Illinois with no experience

The best paid construction occupations in Illinois 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 Illinois run 0.0% below the national average (2024), so a Illinois salary is worth about 1.00× 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 Illinois.

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

Find construction jobs in Illinois

OccupationMedian, Illinois · Employed

1Structural Iron and Steel Workers$101,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$64,830 – $124,4502,740
2Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$99,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,250 – $126,43016,750
3Electricians$99,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,240 – $123,66023,120
4Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$97,740
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,770 – $123,33012,290
5Brickmasons and Blockmasons$89,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,200 – $109,6702,490
6Sheet Metal Workers$86,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,220 – $117,9103,260
7Carpenters$79,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,890 – $117,66019,570
8Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$78,170
No formal educational credential
$49,050 – $107,6705,890
9Roofers$77,900
No formal educational credential
$46,600 – $106,5305,300
10Highway Maintenance Workers$61,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,680 – $100,79010,790
11Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$61,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,990 – $98,9701,980
12Painters, Construction and Maintenance$61,260
No formal educational credential
$40,820 – $105,3506,820
13Construction Laborers$60,690
No formal educational credential
$38,880 – $105,04035,940

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

#	Occupation	MedianIllinois	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$101,850	$64,830 – $124,450	2,740
2	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$99,950	$50,250 – $126,430	16,750
3	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$99,560	$49,240 – $123,660	23,120
4	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$97,740	$49,770 – $123,330	12,290
5	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$89,980	$47,200 – $109,670	2,490
6	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$86,630	$42,220 – $117,910	3,260
7	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,000	$39,890 – $117,660	19,570
8	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$78,170	$49,050 – $107,670	5,890
9	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$77,900	$46,600 – $106,530	5,300
10	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,700	$35,680 – $100,790	10,790
11	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,330	$43,990 – $98,970	1,980
12	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$61,260	$40,820 – $105,350	6,820
13	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$60,690	$38,880 – $105,040	35,940

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

Metro areas in Illinois

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

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Illinois with no experience

More for Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state with no experience