- The middle half earn between $25.13 and $42.19 an hour.
- No state pays construction laborers more at the median.
- Hawaii pays more than both nearby states it is compared with.
- BLS counts about 4,580 construction laborers on payrolls in Hawaii.
- At the state median wage, a contracting business needs to bill about $135.69 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Construction Laborer pay in Hawaii, 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 | $21.15 | $43,990 | $16.87 |
| 25th percentile | $25.13 | $52,270 | $18.57 |
| Median | $37.07 | $77,110 | $22.66 |
| 75th percentile | $42.19 | $87,750 | $28.72 |
| 90th percentile | $46.39 | $96,490 | $37.54 |
| Average (mean) | $34.39 | $71,520 | $25.02 |
From the bottom tenth ($21.15) to the top tenth ($46.39), the top of the scale pays about 2.2 times the bottom in Hawaii, close to the 2.2 times spread for construction laborers nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $21.15 against $16.87 at the bottom tenth, and $46.39 against $37.54 at the top.
The average wage ($34.39) is a little under the median, so the low end of the range stretches further than the high end in Hawaii.
How Hawaii compares with other states
Over a full year, the Hawaii median of $77,110 is $29,990 more than the national $47,120.
No state pays more. The next highest is New Jersey at $30.80, and the lowest is Alabama at $17.74.
Hawaii has no land border, so it is set here against California and Alaska. Hawaii pays more than both.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Hawaii. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Nearby state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Hawaii |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $37.07 | $77,110 | |
| California | $28.98 | $60,270 | −$8.09 an hour |
| Alaska | $27.91 | $58,060 | −$9.16 an hour |
How many construction laborers work in Hawaii
About 4,580 construction laborers work on payrolls in Hawaii, 0.4% of the 1,096,780 nationwide, the 42nd largest count among the states.
That is 7.3 of every 1,000 jobs in Hawaii, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a contracting business in Hawaii should charge
Higher wages in Hawaii go straight into the price. Take a contracting business in Hawaii paying the state median of $37.07 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 | $37.07 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $83,004 |
| Break-even rate | ($83,004 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $115.34 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $115.34 ÷ 0.85 | $135.69 |
That is $135.69 per billable hour, 3.7 times the wage, and $25.31 more than the $110.38 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $42.19 in Hawaii, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $144.68.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $25.13, the rate only drops to $114.72.
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.