Construction Laborers Average Salary in California
$64,870 average · $64,870 median · BLS OEWS 2025
SOC Code: 47-2061What is this?
This page shows employer-reported wages for Construction Laborers in California, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey — median and mean pay, the full percentile distribution, and the industries that employ this occupation locally. Licensure and union status are the structural levers. Licensed trades (electrical, plumbing, elevator) out-earn unlicensed work substantially, and union-dense states show wage gaps of 30-50% over open-shop states for identical work — visible directly in the state comparisons on this site. Within a trade, the journeyman-to-foreman-to-superintendent ladder is the progression that reaches the top percentiles.
How much do Construction Laborers make in California?
The average construction laborers salary in California is $64,870 per year. That works out to about $31.19 per hour on average. BLS counts roughly 88,240 construction laborers jobs in California.
Mean and median are close, so pay is relatively concentrated around $64,870. Entry-level roles (10th percentile) report about $64,870; experienced workers at the 90th percentile report about $64,870 — a 0% spread from bottom to top. Figures are employer-reported wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — not self-reported survey averages — so they are the right baseline for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
How Construction and Extraction Careers Are Structured
Construction wages carry a premium over comparable-education work that compensates for two realities: physical demands and cyclicality. The trend data for these occupations shows the boom-bust signature clearly — employment swings with interest rates and building cycles even when wages hold. Plan for the trough years, not just the current figure.
The wage tables and percentile chart on this page show how construction laborers pay is distributed in California specifically — and because state-level wages for the same occupation routinely differ by 30% or more, the local figures here are the ones that matter for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
What Moves Pay in This Field
Licensure and union status are the structural levers. Licensed trades (electrical, plumbing, elevator) out-earn unlicensed work substantially, and union-dense states show wage gaps of 30-50% over open-shop states for identical work — visible directly in the state comparisons on this site. Within a trade, the journeyman-to-foreman-to-superintendent ladder is the progression that reaches the top percentiles.
The registered apprenticeship is the canonical entry: three to five years of paid training, no tuition debt, and a license at the end. Laborer entry is immediate and can convert into an apprenticeship from inside. The long-game consideration is the body: successful construction careers plan the transition into supervision, inspection, or estimating before wear forces it.
New to reading wage distributions? Our guide to salary percentiles explains how to place yourself on the chart above, and the negotiation playbook shows how to use these numbers in an actual conversation.
What Do Construction Laborers Do?
Construction Laborers positions belong to the construction and extraction field. Construction wages carry a premium over comparable-education work that compensates for two realities: physical demands and cyclicality. The trend data for these occupations shows the boom-bust signature clearly — employment swings with interest rates and building cycles even when wages hold. Plan for the trough years, not just the current figure.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 47-2061
Construction Laborers pay in California
In California, construction laborers report a median of $64,870 (about $31.19/hour) across roughly 88,240 jobs. The local pay band runs from about $64,870 at the 10th percentile to $64,870 at the 90th.
Compared with the national distribution, local industry mix and cost of living are the main reasons California wages for this occupation sit where they do — toggle Regional Price Parity on this page to see purchasing-power-adjusted pay.
What your paycheck is really worth in California
Prices in California run 11% above the national average (RPP 110.7). So a nominal salary of $64,870 has the buying power of about $58,589 in national terms.
California vs. United States for Construction Laborers
The median construction laborers salary in California is $64,870, which is +24.6% above the national median of $52,070 (mean pay is +25.0% above the U.S. mean of $51,882). Among 51 states and D.C. with OEWS data, California ranks #5 by median wage for this occupation (top tier). California accounts for about 1.5% of U.S. construction laborers employment in the latest OEWS release.
See every state ranked for this occupation on the best-paying states page, or compare purchasing power on real wages.
Income reality check
The median salary for Construction Laborers in California of $64,870 falls in the Middle class band of this framework - roughly ~10% of the U.S. population and ~10% of the global population sit in this band.
Illustrative relative standing for education only - this ladder is a simplified framework, not an official Census, BLS, or World Bank statistical series. Salary figures on Wage Atlas come from official BLS OEWS data.
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Occupation Report Card
Top Industries for Construction Laborers
| $52,644 | $47,452 | $25 | 2,560,480 |
Related Occupations
SOC: 53-1047 • 89% match | $66,912 | $66,860 | $32 | 3,200,690 |
SOC: 47-2031 • 87% match | $65,741 | $65,630 | $32 | 3,457,910 |
SOC: 41-1011 • 88% match | $53,392 | $53,350 | $26 | 5,666,660 |
SOC: 53-7051 • 88% match | $48,241 | $48,370 | $23 | 3,938,300 |
| Find Occupation 53 7051 Jobs | ||||
SOC: 43-5071 • 88% match | $46,820 | $46,810 | $23 | 4,222,500 |
SOC: 51-2090 • 87% match | $46,455 | $46,650 | $22 | 14,421,060 |
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Construction Laborers in Other States
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Career Advancement Strategy
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Specialized Trade Certification
$64,870 → $81,088
Supervisory Role Transition
$64,870 → $84,331
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Viewing: Construction Laborers (SOC: 47-2061)