High paying construction jobs in Pennsylvania with no experience

The best paid construction occupations in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania run 2.4% below the national average (2024), so a Pennsylvania 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. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Pennsylvania.

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

Find construction jobs in Pennsylvania

OccupationMedian, Pennsylvania · Employed

1Brickmasons and Blockmasons$69,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,690 – $102,7602,910
2Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$68,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,770 – $134,11013,620
3Electricians$67,600
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,600 – $122,62022,730
4Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$61,610
No formal educational credential
$44,090 – $78,1005,180
5Sheet Metal Workers$61,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,660 – $126,4303,260
6Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$60,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,780 – $94,93022,120
7Carpenters$59,370
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,970 – $92,11030,630
8Roofers$55,710
No formal educational credential
$40,480 – $76,7003,830
9Painters, Construction and Maintenance$52,120
No formal educational credential
$37,250 – $72,2305,980
10Construction Laborers$49,400
No formal educational credential
$37,480 – $74,67035,920
11Highway Maintenance Workers$47,690
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,830 – $66,05011,140

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

#	Occupation	MedianPennsylvania	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$69,560	$49,690 – $102,760	2,910
2	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$68,080	$46,770 – $134,110	13,620
3	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$67,600	$45,600 – $122,620	22,730
4	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$61,610	$44,090 – $78,100	5,180
5	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,400	$45,660 – $126,430	3,260
6	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,530	$46,780 – $94,930	22,120
7	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,370	$42,970 – $92,110	30,630
8	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$55,710	$40,480 – $76,700	3,830
9	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$52,120	$37,250 – $72,230	5,980
10	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$49,400	$37,480 – $74,670	35,920
11	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,690	$36,830 – $66,050	11,140

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

Metro areas in Pennsylvania

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

By field in Pennsylvania

Without a degree

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

High paying construction jobs in Pennsylvania with no experience

More for Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania

By field in Pennsylvania

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state with no experience