Construction labor cost by metro
Median construction wages (BLS OEWS 2025, SOC 47-0000) for 20U.S. metros, and each metro’s factor against the national median of $28.63/hr. This is the exact table Ask Donnie’s deterministic estimator uses to localize the labor in every line item — public data, mechanically applied, never invented.
| Metro | Median wage ($/hr) | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $28.63 | 1.00× |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $40.49 | 1.41× (+41% vs national) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $38.61 | 1.35× (+35% vs national) |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $37.82 | 1.32× (+32% vs national) |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | $37.53 | 1.31× (+31% vs national) |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $36.80 | 1.29× (+29% vs national) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $36.56 | 1.28× (+28% vs national) |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $36.29 | 1.27× (+27% vs national) |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $33.47 | 1.17× (+17% vs national) |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | $32.49 | 1.13× (+13% vs national) |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $30.56 | 1.07× (+7% vs national) |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | $30.35 | 1.06× (+6% vs national) |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $30.31 | 1.06× (+6% vs national) |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | $29.17 | 1.02× (+2% vs national) |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $28.37 | 0.99× (-1% vs national) |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $24.77 | 0.87× (-13% vs national) |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $24.35 | 0.85× (-15% vs national) |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $24.06 | 0.84× (-16% vs national) |
| Birmingham-Hoover, AL | $24.06 | 0.84× (-16% vs national) |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $24.00 | 0.84× (-16% vs national) |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $23.82 | 0.83× (-17% vs national) |
What the factor means
Construction is labor-heavy, so the local wage moves the installed cost more than anything else — material holds near the national commodity average across the contiguous U.S. Every cost guide on this site now shows its cost basis scaled by these exact factors, per metro; the estimator does the same for your specific ZIP.
Common questions
Which metro has the most expensive construction labor?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI tops this table at $40.49/hr median construction wage (BLS OEWS 2025) — +41% vs national. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL is the least expensive listed at $23.82/hr (-17% vs national).
Where do these numbers come from?
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS 2025 median hourly wages for construction and extraction occupations (SOC 47-0000), by metropolitan area — public-domain government data. The factor is each metro's wage divided by the national median of $28.63/hr.
How does Ask Donnie use these factors?
The estimator resolves your ZIP code to its metro (via the Census ZIP-to-CBSA mapping, with a statewide fallback) and scales the LABOR portion of every line item by that factor. Material holds near the national commodity average across the contiguous U.S., so the local wage is what actually moves your number.
See it applied — the cost guides
- Wall framing cost per square foot
- Floor framing cost per square foot
- Roof framing (truss) cost per square foot
- Concrete slab cost per square foot
- Continuous footing cost per linear foot
- Asphalt shingle roofing cost per square foot
- Fiber-cement siding cost per square foot
- Vinyl window cost (installed)
- Exterior door cost (installed)
- Aluminum gutter cost per linear foot
- Wall insulation (R-13 batt) cost per square foot
- Attic insulation (R-38 blown) cost per square foot
- Drywall cost per square foot
- Interior painting cost per square foot
- Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring cost per square foot
- Ceramic/porcelain tile flooring cost per square foot
- Brick veneer cost per square foot
- Stone veneer cost per square foot
- Concrete paver patio cost per square foot
- Sod installation cost per square foot
Want your ZIP’s number, not the metro average?
Ask Donnie prices your actual takeoff against your ZIP — deterministic, itemized, with an AACE accuracy class. Free to start.
Try Ask Donnie →Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2025), SOC 47-0000 median hourly wage by metropolitan area — public domain. Table generated 2026-07-03; the BLS series IDs for every row are recorded in the repository. Budgeting reference — confirm with local quotes.