Source: NCCER, Alachua, Fla.
Skilled craft professionals’ wage trajectory continues upward, according to the NCCER 2022 Construction Craft Salary Survey—a sampling of 135-plus commercial, industrial and residential construction contractors employing nearly 340,000.
Individual craft areas reported provide average annual salaries, not including overtime, per diem, bonuses or other incentives. Of the 41 construction positions surveyed, average annual salaries ranged from $49,920 to $98,965. Project supervisors and project managers topped the list, earning over $90,200 and $98,900, respectively. Professions earning more than $65,000 include HVAC technician, commercial electrician, instrumentation fitter, boilermaker, industrial maintenance mechanic, pipefitter, rigger, millwright, industrial electrician, pipe welder, surveyor, construction site safety technician, electronic systems technician, mobile crane operator, plumber, combo welder, tower crane operator, instrumentation technician and power line worker.
Additionally, eight more craft areas made more than $60,000 per year. The most significant pay increase in the 2022 survey involved power line workers, where wages are up 25 percent from previous years, with plumbers a close second at +23 percent. Since many craft professionals receive additional pay incentives, NCCER reports, their take-home pay is typically much greater than the incomes reflected.
The Construction Craft Salary Survey is one of many resources NCCER and its Build Your Future initiative offer to promote construction careers and help build a pipeline of qualified craft professionals. Complete results are available at www.nccer.org/research.
