Despite cooling demand in U.S. construction—with spending down in interest-rate-sensitive sectors like housing and commercial development, and nearly 80% of contractors reporting hiring challenges—the industry’s labor gap remains significant: the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) estimates a shortfall of 439,000 workers in 2025.
Amid these labor market pressures, construction wages are rising, but not as much as one might expect—and gains vary by state and occupation. In North Carolina, the fastest increases cluster in specific trades, while others have seen far less progress.
In the 2025 edition of their Construction Jobs With the Fastest-Growing Wages report, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify how wages are trending across the construction industry nationally, by state, and by specific occupation.
Here are the five construction jobs with the fastest-growing wages in North Carolina:
| Wage growth rank | Occupation | 5-year percentage change in wage (nominal) | 5-year percentage change in wage (inflation-adjusted) | Mean annual wage (2024) | Mean annual wage (2019) |
| 1 | Hazardous Materials Removal Workers | +42.7% | +16.3% | $44,090 | $30,900 |
| 2 | Helpers–Carpenters | +42.3% | +16.0% | $42,020 | $29,520 |
| 3 | Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other | +42.2% | +15.9% | $38,620 | $27,150 |
| 4 | Construction Laborers | +41.7% | +15.5% | $44,210 | $31,190 |
| 5 | Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners | +40.3% | +14.3% | $48,990 | $34,930 |
And here are some other key takeaways from the report:
- Wages Up, Purchasing Power Down: In 2024, construction and extraction workers earned a mean annual wage of $63,920, up 21.6% from 2019 in nominal terms but down 0.9% after adjusting for inflation.
- West Coast Advantage: California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada combine high wages with strong growth, each topping $69,000 in cost-of-living-adjusted wages and posting 2.6–4.5% real gains since 2019.
- Fastest-Growing Paychecks: Out of all construction jobs, quarry rock splitters (+10.2%), construction helpers (+7.5%), and paving equipment operators (+7.1%) posted the strongest inflation-adjusted wage gains over the past five years.
The full report covers all 50 U.S. states, with breakdowns of the fastest-growing construction occupations in each location—including five-year wage changes (nominal and inflation-adjusted), mean wages in 2024 vs. 2019, and total employment. We’ve also included a link to high-resolution, downloadable graphics at the bottom of this email.
