How much do scaffold builders make in 2026?
Scaffold builders are counted in the BLS construction laborers series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 47-2061 national median at $47,120 a year ($22.66 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $35,090 and the top 10% at $78,090. Scaffold erection sits around and above the middle of that pooled band, and it separates from general labour on the strength of a single distinction: whether you are erecting to someone else's direction or are the qualified person responsible for the scaffold. Regulation requires scaffolds to be erected under the supervision of a competent person and, where they are not standard configurations, designed by a qualified engineer, so trained and certified erectors are a defined labour category rather than interchangeable labour. The best-paid scaffold work is industrial: refinery and power plant turnarounds and shutdowns, where large multi-level and suspended systems go up and come down on compressed schedules with per diem and long shifts, and where certified erectors and supervisors are in short supply during outage seasons. Commercial building, mast climbing and suspended access work pays above general labour but below industrial turnaround rates. Employment is projected to grow 7.3% through 2034 with roughly 129,400 openings a year across the pooled series. → Full scaffold builder 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.
- Scaffold Builders 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.
- Scaffold erection is counted in the pooled construction labourers series and sits around and above the middle of its $35,090 to $78,090 band.
- Competent person status is the dividing line: regulation requires scaffolds to be erected under competent-person supervision, which makes certified erectors a defined and better-paid category.
- Industrial turnaround and outage scaffolding pays the most — compressed schedules, long shifts and per diem — while commercial building and suspended access work sits between general labour and industrial rates.
US Scaffold Builder Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do scaffold builders 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 scaffold builder earn at each career stage?
Scaffold pay follows certification and responsibility for the structure, not time on the crew. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 47-2061.
By State
Which states pay scaffold builders 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. Scaffold earnings depend on industrial density more than on general wage levels: Gulf Coast refining, chemical corridors and power generation regions run turnaround programmes that pay certified erectors well above the modeled figure.
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 scaffold builders the most?
Metro figures are modeled — pooled national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Metro construction scaffolding does pay a premium for street-level access, permits and public protection, but the highest-paid scaffold work is at industrial plants outside the cities, compensated through shift length and per diem.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a scaffold builder’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 scaffold builder pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Scaffold Builders 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 scaffold builder wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a scaffold builder 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
Scaffold Builder Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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