High paying construction jobs in New Jersey with no experience

The best paid construction occupations in New Jersey 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 New Jersey run 8.8% above the national average (2024), so a New Jersey salary is worth about 0.92× 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 New Jersey.

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

Find construction jobs in New Jersey

OccupationMedian, New Jersey · Employed

1Sheet Metal Workers$92,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,290 – $130,6302,790
2Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$89,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,760 – $133,3305,980
3Solar Photovoltaic Installers$78,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,600 – $102,0501,880
4Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$78,240
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,720 – $136,7108,750
5Electricians$77,250
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,570 – $130,86013,520
6Roofers$76,600
No formal educational credential
$45,230 – $103,7201,860
7Construction Laborers$64,060
No formal educational credential
$37,980 – $106,14023,590
8Carpenters$64,010
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,680 – $121,49014,230
9Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$61,410
No formal educational credential
$44,730 – $105,9202,390
10Painters, Construction and Maintenance$59,250
No formal educational credential
$37,680 – $95,9504,110
11Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$55,900
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,750 – $107,5702,250
12Highway Maintenance Workers$51,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,810 – $80,3604,850
13Helpers--Electricians$44,550
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,350 – $49,9601,670

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

#	Occupation	MedianNew Jersey	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$92,840	$46,290 – $130,630	2,790
2	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$89,660	$50,760 – $133,330	5,980
3	Solar Photovoltaic InstallersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,950	$47,600 – $102,050	1,880
4	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,240	$48,720 – $136,710	8,750
5	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,250	$48,570 – $130,860	13,520
6	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$76,600	$45,230 – $103,720	1,860
7	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$64,060	$37,980 – $106,140	23,590
8	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,010	$43,680 – $121,490	14,230
9	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$61,410	$44,730 – $105,920	2,390
10	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$59,250	$37,680 – $95,950	4,110
11	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,900	$43,750 – $107,570	2,250
12	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,720	$36,810 – $80,360	4,850
13	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,550	$35,350 – $49,960	1,670

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

Metro areas in New Jersey

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

By field in New Jersey

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in New Jersey with no experience

More for New Jersey

Metro areas in New Jersey

By field in New Jersey

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state with no experience