How much do concrete laborers make in 2026?
Concrete labourers are counted in the BLS construction laborers series: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 47-2061 national median as $47,120 a year ($22.66 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $35,090 and the top 10% at $78,090. Concrete labour sits in the lower and middle part of that band. The work is placing and spreading concrete, pulling screeds, moving hose, setting and stripping forms, tying the odd mat of steel, and doing it at the pace a ready-mix truck sets, starting before dawn. What matters about this position is where it leads: it is the recognised entry to two better-paid trades. Concrete finishing, which has its own BLS series with a higher median, is learned by watching and then being handed a float on the flat parts of the slab. Form carpentry and heavy civil formwork is the other route, and it leads into carpenter classifications. Labourers who stay in general placing work indefinitely stay near the middle of this band, while those who learn to finish or form move to a different wage series entirely within a few years. Employment is projected to grow 7.3% through 2034 with roughly 129,400 openings a year. → Full concrete laborer career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $47,120 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Concrete Laborers earn a national median $47,120/yr ($22.66/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-2061); the P10 to P90 range is $35,090 to $78,090.
- Concrete labour is counted in the pooled construction labourers series, and it sits in the lower and middle part of that $35,090 to $78,090 band.
- Its real value is as the entry position on a pour crew: concrete finishing and form carpentry are both learned from here, and both are separately tracked, better-paid occupations.
- The pace is set by the ready-mix schedule rather than by a shift, which means pre-dawn starts, heat exposure and finishing the pour regardless of the hour.
US Concrete Laborer Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do concrete laborers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 47-2061; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-2061, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a concrete laborer earn at each career stage?
Concrete labour pay rises by moving up the pour crew toward finishing or formwork. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 47-2061.
By State
Which states pay concrete laborers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the pooled BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Concrete labour earnings depend heavily on season length and public work: warm-climate states offer more pour days a year, and prevailing-wage infrastructure contracts pay well above private residential placing rates.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($54,190), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay concrete laborers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — pooled national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Urban concrete work commands more because access is constrained: pump placement, night pours under permit and restricted truck movements all raise the labour cost of getting concrete into position.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a concrete laborer’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does concrete laborer pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Concrete Laborers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify concrete laborer wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a concrete laborer actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Concrete Laborer Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
Concrete Laborer career research journey
Do your homework, then let the network do the rest.Get the job, then keep rising
FreeSet your intent, matching jobs come to you. No applying.
A roadmap to your next licence tier and higher pay band.
Once placed, we cover all certification, licence & career-guide fees.
Hiring concrete laborers?
Get a verified shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates in 48 hours
GlobalCybers verifies active state licenses, trade certifications, Intent and right-to-work status before any candidate reaches your portal. Flat $2,999/mo RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), up to 3 concurrent roles, or a free trial (pay on hire). 90-day written guarantee.
Related · Concrete Laborer
Everything for concrete laborers in one place
Salary data, licensing, interview prep, and hiring, all cross-linked so you (and search engines) can move through the full concrete laborer cluster.