High paying construction jobs in North Carolina with no experience

The best paid construction occupations in North Carolina 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 North Carolina run 5.7% below the national average (2024), so a North Carolina salary is worth about 1.06× 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 North Carolina.

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

Find construction jobs in North Carolina

OccupationMedian, North Carolina · Employed

1Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$57,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,860 – $75,85014,510
2Electricians$56,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,130 – $75,06021,640
3Sheet Metal Workers$50,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,280 – $78,0202,780
4Brickmasons and Blockmasons$49,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,270 – $61,5901,760
5Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$49,310
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,050 – $64,45016,580
6Carpenters$49,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,620 – $63,16013,480
7Roofers$49,010
No formal educational credential
$36,760 – $60,6003,060
8Structural Iron and Steel Workers$48,740
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,780 – $79,1302,000
9Highway Maintenance Workers$47,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,980 – $58,8703,750
10Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$47,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,860 – $61,3101,940
11Pipelayers$47,220
No formal educational credential
$37,870 – $59,2803,830
12Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$46,780
No formal educational credential
$37,090 – $60,2904,610
13Construction Laborers$44,720
No formal educational credential
$31,850 – $59,97035,620
14Painters, Construction and Maintenance$44,110
No formal educational credential
$33,410 – $58,3005,220
15Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$43,710
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,900 – $48,3803,070
16Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$42,990
No formal educational credential
$31,110 – $60,0802,090
17Helpers--Electricians$39,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,810 – $48,6706,770

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

#	Occupation	MedianNorth Carolina	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,080	$38,860 – $75,850	14,510
2	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,800	$40,130 – $75,060	21,640
3	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,730	$37,280 – $78,020	2,780
4	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,940	$38,270 – $61,590	1,760
5	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,310	$39,050 – $64,450	16,580
6	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,100	$35,620 – $63,160	13,480
7	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$49,010	$36,760 – $60,600	3,060
8	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,740	$36,780 – $79,130	2,000
9	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,880	$34,980 – $58,870	3,750
10	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,820	$37,860 – $61,310	1,940
11	PipelayersNo formal educational credential	$47,220	$37,870 – $59,280	3,830
12	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$46,780	$37,090 – $60,290	4,610
13	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$44,720	$31,850 – $59,970	35,620
14	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$44,110	$33,410 – $58,300	5,220
15	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,710	$32,900 – $48,380	3,070
16	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$42,990	$31,110 – $60,080	2,090
17	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,880	$31,810 – $48,670	6,770

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

Metro areas in North Carolina

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

By field in North Carolina

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in North Carolina with no experience

More for North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina

By field in North Carolina

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state with no experience