- The middle half earn between $23.15 and $37.75 an hour.
- Only 4 states pay construction laborers more at the median.
- California pays more than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 88,240 construction laborers on payrolls in California.
- At the state median wage, a contracting business needs to bill about $121.48 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Construction Laborer pay in California, bottom to top
Construction laborers do the site work on a crew: demolition, digging, hauling and cleanup, and helping the trades. Separate helper categories for specific trades are not included.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $19.69 | $40,950 | $16.87 |
| 25th percentile | $23.15 | $48,140 | $18.57 |
| Median | $28.98 | $60,270 | $22.66 |
| 75th percentile | $37.75 | $78,520 | $28.72 |
| 90th percentile | $45.01 | $93,620 | $37.54 |
| Average (mean) | $31.19 | $64,870 | $25.02 |
From the bottom tenth ($19.69) to the top tenth ($45.01), the top of the scale pays about 2.3 times the bottom in California, close to the 2.2 times spread for construction laborers nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $19.69 against $16.87 at the bottom tenth, and $45.01 against $37.54 at the top.
The average wage, $31.19, sits 8% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical construction laborer makes.
How California compares with other states
Over a full year, the California median of $60,270 is $13,150 more than the national $47,120.
In the state ranking, California sits 5th, between Illinois ($29.18) and Minnesota ($28.97). The range runs from $17.74 in Alabama to $37.07 in Hawaii.
California pays construction laborers more than any of its neighboring states, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in California. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many construction laborers work in California
BLS estimates 88,240 construction laborers on payrolls in California, 8.0% of the 1,096,780 nationwide. Only 1 state has more.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 4.8 per 1,000 jobs, 0.69 times the national share.
What a contracting business in California should charge
Higher wages in California go straight into the price. Take a contracting business in California paying the state median of $28.98 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $28.98 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $64,890 |
| Break-even rate | ($64,890 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $103.26 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $103.26 ÷ 0.85 | $121.48 |
That is $121.48 per billable hour, 4.2 times the wage, and $11.10 more than the $110.38 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $37.75 in California, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $136.88.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $23.15, the rate only drops to $111.24.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-2061, construction laborers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: construction laborer salary by state.