High paying construction jobs in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV with no experience

The best paid construction occupations in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV run 8.9% above the national average (2024), so a Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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.

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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

OccupationMedian, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Employed

1Electricians$75,930
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,690 – $121,57016,580
2Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$71,860
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,480 – $114,4009,420
3Structural Iron and Steel Workers$68,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,720 – $85,3701,060
4Glaziers$63,310
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,500 – $80,8001,380
5Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$61,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,580 – $84,1806,450
6Sheet Metal Workers$61,270
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,780 – $85,7801,840
7Carpenters$60,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,150 – $90,59013,280
8Brickmasons and Blockmasons$60,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,760 – $75,1201,910
9Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$59,070
No formal educational credential
$47,760 – $77,8102,210
10Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$58,350
No formal educational credential
$44,000 – $77,4102,810
11Roofers$58,340
No formal educational credential
$47,210 – $79,6001,940
12Painters, Construction and Maintenance$50,560
No formal educational credential
$41,600 – $74,0404,380
13Helpers--Electricians$47,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,150 – $59,0801,320
14Construction Laborers$47,430
No formal educational credential
$37,030 – $62,80017,710
15Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$45,900
No formal educational credential
$41,080 – $78,0901,330

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

#	Occupation	MedianWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,930	$44,690 – $121,570	16,580
2	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$71,860	$47,480 – $114,400	9,420
3	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$68,320	$50,720 – $85,370	1,060
4	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,310	$47,500 – $80,800	1,380
5	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,660	$46,580 – $84,180	6,450
6	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,270	$43,780 – $85,780	1,840
7	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,800	$47,150 – $90,590	13,280
8	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,670	$45,760 – $75,120	1,910
9	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$59,070	$47,760 – $77,810	2,210
10	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$58,350	$44,000 – $77,410	2,810
11	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$58,340	$47,210 – $79,600	1,940
12	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$50,560	$41,600 – $74,040	4,380
13	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,470	$34,150 – $59,080	1,320
14	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$47,430	$37,030 – $62,800	17,710
15	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$45,900	$41,080 – $78,090	1,330

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. 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.

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By field in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV to rank honestly.

High paying construction jobs in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV with no experience

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By field in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Without a degree

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