- The middle half earn between $20.22 and $31.12 an hour.
- Nevada ranks 23rd of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Nevada pays more than 3 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 11,890 construction laborers on payrolls in Nevada.
- At the state median wage, a contracting business needs to bill about $111.95 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Construction Laborer pay in Nevada, 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 | $17.50 | $36,400 | $16.87 |
| 25th percentile | $20.22 | $42,070 | $18.57 |
| Median | $23.55 | $48,990 | $22.66 |
| 75th percentile | $31.12 | $64,720 | $28.72 |
| 90th percentile | $36.86 | $76,660 | $37.54 |
| Average (mean) | $25.98 | $54,030 | $25.02 |
From the bottom tenth ($17.50) to the top tenth ($36.86), the top of the scale pays about 2.1 times the bottom in Nevada, close to the 2.2 times spread for construction laborers nationwide.
The floor is higher than nationally ($17.50 against $16.87) but the ceiling is lower ($36.86 against $37.54), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average wage, $25.98, sits 10% 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 Nevada compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $48,990 in Nevada against $47,120 nationally, $1,870 more.
In the state ranking, Nevada sits 23rd, between North Dakota ($23.59) and Vermont ($23.36). The range runs from $17.74 in Alabama to $37.07 in Hawaii.
Against its neighboring states, Nevada is in the middle: California and Oregon pay more, and Arizona, Idaho and Utah pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Nevada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | $23.55 | $48,990 | |
| Arizona | $22.40 | $46,590 | −$1.15 an hour |
| California | $28.98 | $60,270 | +$5.43 an hour |
| Idaho | $22.57 | $46,940 | −$0.98 an hour |
| Oregon | $24.45 | $50,860 | +$0.90 an hour |
| Utah | $22.38 | $46,550 | −$1.17 an hour |
How many construction laborers work in Nevada
About 11,890 construction laborers work on payrolls in Nevada, 1.1% of the 1,096,780 nationwide, the 32nd largest count among the states.
That is 7.7 of every 1,000 jobs in Nevada, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a contracting business in Nevada should charge
Say you run a contracting business in Nevada and pay the state median of $23.55 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on 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 | $23.55 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $52,731 |
| Break-even rate | ($52,731 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $95.15 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $95.15 ÷ 0.85 | $111.95 |
That is $111.95 per billable hour, 4.8 times the wage, and $1.56 more than the $110.38 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $31.12 in Nevada, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $125.24.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $20.22, the rate only drops to $106.10.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
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.