Career Training Path › Construction trades programs
Construction trades programs
If you finish a construction trades program and work as a construction laborer, expect to start around $35,090–$38,620 a year and reach the trade's median of $47,120 with experience; the top quarter earn $59,740 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). There are 442 accredited campuses offering it; their graduates' actual first-year median, counting every graduate whatever job they took, was $27,572, with median debt of $6,460.
What you'd earn working as a construction laborer
Annual wages for the 1,096,780 people employed as construction laborers nationally — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. This is the figure to plan around if you intend to work in the trade.
How pay grows in this trade
Getting in: A pre-apprenticeship or certificate, then a registered apprenticeship in carpentry, masonry, ironwork or similar.
- Laborer and apprentice pay first; journeyman scale after the apprenticeship.
- Specialties (finish carpentry, concrete forms, steel erection) and union scale pay above the median.
- Foreman, superintendent, estimator and contractor licensing are the upper rungs.
Typical time to mid-career pay: 3–4 (apprenticeship) years. Licensing and apprenticeship rules vary by state and employer — verify with your state board before enrolling.
What graduates of these programs actually earned
Federal College Scorecard medians for every federally aided graduate of these programs, whatever job they took after finishing — including part-time work, apprentice wages and work outside the trade. That is why they sit below the trade's wage ladder above. Use them to compare schools against each other, not to judge what the career pays.
Find construction programs by state
54 campuses · $25,247 yr-1 pay Florida
22 campuses · $30,373 yr-1 pay Oklahoma
22 campuses North Carolina
21 campuses · $42,229 yr-1 pay Tennessee
21 campuses Pennsylvania
20 campuses · $27,622 yr-1 pay Kansas
18 campuses · $55,995 yr-1 pay Georgia
16 campuses Minnesota
16 campuses · $47,885 yr-1 pay Wisconsin
14 campuses · $35,000 yr-1 pay Illinois
13 campuses Iowa
12 campuses · $29,397 yr-1 pay Arizona
11 campuses · $36,008 yr-1 pay Kentucky
11 campuses Michigan
11 campuses · $20,434 yr-1 pay Washington
10 campuses Ohio
9 campuses Alabama
8 campuses · $12,942 yr-1 pay Mississippi
8 campuses New York
8 campuses · $35,044 yr-1 pay South Carolina
8 campuses Texas
8 campuses Utah
8 campuses Maryland
7 campuses Missouri
7 campuses · $26,984 yr-1 pay New Mexico
7 campuses Colorado
6 campuses Montana
6 campuses Nebraska
6 campuses · $39,400 yr-1 pay Louisiana
5 campuses Maine
5 campuses Arkansas
4 campuses Hawaii
4 campuses Oregon
4 campuses South Dakota
4 campuses · $32,968 yr-1 pay Alaska
3 campuses Indiana
3 campuses · $48,242 yr-1 pay Massachusetts
3 campuses · $31,119 yr-1 pay North Dakota
3 campuses New Jersey
3 campuses · $25,412 yr-1 pay Nevada
3 campuses Virginia
3 campuses · $25,461 yr-1 pay Idaho
2 campuses Wyoming
2 campuses Micronesia
1 campuses Guam
1 campuses Marshall Islands
1 campuses Puerto Rico
1 campuses Rhode Island
1 campuses West Virginia
1 campuses
Where construction graduates earn the most
Median program-level earnings one year after completion, states with 3+ reporting programs. Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.
Public vs. non-profit vs. for-profit construction schools
| School type | Campuses | Median earnings, yr 1 | Median debt | Avg completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public | 401 | $35,000 | $8,315 | 47% |
| Private non-profit | 29 | $25,247 | $6,323 | 68% |
| Private for-profit | 12 | $28,694 | $12,000 | 76% |
How to choose a construction program
- Check accreditation first. Every campus listed here is accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, or awarded federally reported credentials. Each profile names the accreditor and links to the federal record.
- Compare completion, not just tuition. A cheap program that half the class never finishes costs more than it looks. Profiles show each campus's completion rate against its state average.
- Look at earnings a year out, by program. The Scorecard reports median earnings for graduates of this specific program at this specific campus where cohorts are large enough. That is the number to compare, not national averages.
- Ask about federal aid. "Title IV eligible: Yes" means FAFSA, Pell Grants and federal loans apply. Many also accept GI Bill and WIOA funding — ask.
- Verify state licensing where it applies. Trades like construction may need a state license or certification after the program; the school should say which exam its graduates sit.
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
"What the trade pays" is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025): annual wages for everyone employed in the occupation nationally, at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles. The 10th–25th percentile band is a fair guide to entry-level pay; the 75th–90th to experienced workers. Program earnings (above) are lower because they count every graduate of the program in their first year, including part-time work, apprentice wages and jobs outside the trade.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026), the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions survey, and the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP). Figures are federal medians and means for campuses in this program group; "not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy (small cohorts) — never an estimate.