General Contractor Salary: What BLS Actually Measures
There is no BLS occupation called general contractor. The two occupations closest to the work had May 2025 OEWS median wages of $114,990 for construction managers and $79,920 for first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers. Neither figure measures what an owner of a contracting business takes home.
$114,990
Median annual wage, Construction managers
SOC 11-9021, May 2025 OEWS
$55.28
Median hourly wage, Construction managers
SOC 11-9021, official OEWS hourly median
$79,920
Median annual wage, Construction field supervisors
SOC 47-1011, May 2025 OEWS
$38.42
Median hourly wage, Construction field supervisors
SOC 47-1011, official OEWS hourly median
Each figure above belongs to the BLS occupation named on the card. Neither is a wage for general contractor as such, and this page does not blend them into one number. May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026; reviewed July 2026. The OEWS mean for Construction Managers is $124,360 per year ($59.79 per hour). The OEWS mean for First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers is $86,450 per year ($41.56 per hour). The mean is a different statistic from the median.
What BLS does and does not measure here
BLS does not publish a general contractor wage, so this page publishes two disclosed employee benchmarks instead of inventing one number.
The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program collects wages from establishments about the workers on their payroll. Self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms are outside that scope. A licensed general contractor who owns the business is therefore not represented in any OEWS wage figure, and what that person takes home depends on revenue, job costing, overhead, and how the business is structured rather than on a wage rate.
The two occupations below are the closest published matches to general contracting done as a job. Construction managers is the management-side framing. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers is the field-side framing. They are different occupations with different medians, different employment levels, and different projections, so this guide reports them separately rather than averaging them into a figure that would describe neither.
Where you see a state table, a projection, or a comparison row on this page, it belongs to one of those two SOC codes. Nothing on this page is a measurement of general contractor owner income.
- Construction ManagersSOC 11-9021
- The professional-role proxy. Construction managers plan, budget, schedule, and coordinate construction projects, and are the closest BLS occupation to a general contractor working as an employee on the management side.
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersSOC 47-1011
- The field-supervision proxy. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers directly supervise and coordinate the crews doing the work, which is closer to how a small residential general contractor spends the day.
General contractor is a business role, not a Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation. Depending on who is asking, it can mean an employed construction manager running budgets and schedules, a working field supervisor directing crews and subcontractors, or a licensed owner who bids the job and carries the risk. BLS publishes wage data for the first two of those and nothing at all for the third, because the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program surveys establishments about the people on their payroll. That leaves self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms outside the survey entirely. This guide therefore publishes both employee benchmarks side by side and labels every number with the SOC code it belongs to. In the May 2025 OEWS release, construction managers had a median annual wage of $114,990 ($55.28 an hour) across 380,360 wage and salary workers, and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers had a median of $79,920 ($38.42 an hour) across 812,210 workers. The state tables below use the published medians for each of those occupations. What you will not find here is a single blended general contractor salary, because no agency measures one.
General Contractor wage benchmark lookup
Look up the official BLS median wage for each benchmark occupation nationally or in a listed state. Each result stays attached to its own SOC code. These are published benchmarks, not personalized salary estimates, and no adjustment is applied for experience, employer, or credentials.
Only states with a published OEWS median for a benchmark occupation are listed.
Median wages by benchmark occupation, United States (national)
- Construction Managers (SOC 11-9021)
$114,990/year$55.28/hr
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (SOC 47-1011)
$79,920/year$38.42/hr
Source: May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026; reviewed July 2026. Half of the workers in each occupation and area earned more than the figure shown and half earned less. OEWS covers wage and salary workers. It excludes self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms, so it does not measure owner earnings, draws, or business profit.
Benchmark median wages by state
Every column below is a published May 2025 OEWS median for the SOC code in its header. There is no general contractor column because BLS does not publish one. Rows are ordered by the Construction Managers median. Both the annual and hourly columns are published medians; neither is derived from the other.
| State | Construction managersSOC 11-9021 | Construction field supervisorsSOC 47-1011 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual, SOC 11-9021 | Median hourly, SOC 11-9021 | Median annual, SOC 47-1011 | Median hourly, SOC 47-1011 | |
| New York | $155,360 | $74.69/hr | $95,700 | $46.01/hr |
| Washington | $155,070 | $74.55/hr | $109,570 | $52.68/hr |
| Massachusetts | $145,010 | $69.71/hr | $97,850 | $47.04/hr |
| Alaska | $139,190 | $66.92/hr | $102,140 | $49.10/hr |
| New Jersey | $138,230 | $66.46/hr | $105,510 | $50.73/hr |
| California | $133,160 | $64.02/hr | $97,680 | $46.96/hr |
| Delaware | $132,150 | $63.53/hr | $81,100 | $38.99/hr |
| Oregon | $131,420 | $63.18/hr | $103,070 | $49.55/hr |
| New Hampshire | $129,260 | $62.15/hr | $81,220 | $39.05/hr |
| Hawaii | $128,910 | $61.98/hr | $102,630 | $49.34/hr |
| Maryland | $128,330 | $61.70/hr | $78,760 | $37.87/hr |
| Connecticut | $125,190 | $60.19/hr | $92,260 | $44.36/hr |
| Colorado | $124,830 | $60.02/hr | $81,230 | $39.05/hr |
| Minnesota | $123,400 | $59.33/hr | $97,610 | $46.93/hr |
| Kansas | $120,810 | $58.08/hr | $76,780 | $36.91/hr |
| Virginia | $119,110 | $57.26/hr | $78,640 | $37.81/hr |
| South Dakota | $118,380 | $56.91/hr | $77,690 | $37.35/hr |
| Nevada | $115,250 | $55.41/hr | $81,990 | $39.42/hr |
| Arizona | $114,680 | $55.14/hr | $78,550 | $37.76/hr |
| Wisconsin | $114,190 | $54.90/hr | $85,350 | $41.03/hr |
| Florida | $113,130 | $54.39/hr | $75,790 | $36.44/hr |
| Missouri | $112,230 | $53.96/hr | $87,520 | $42.08/hr |
| Georgia | $110,810 | $53.27/hr | $78,430 | $37.71/hr |
| Tennessee | $110,200 | $52.98/hr | $74,470 | $35.81/hr |
| Maine | $110,070 | $52.92/hr | $77,290 | $37.16/hr |
| Louisiana | $110,010 | $52.89/hr | $75,360 | $36.23/hr |
| Illinois | $109,160 | $52.48/hr | $105,750 | $50.84/hr |
| Pennsylvania | $108,250 | $52.04/hr | $81,540 | $39.20/hr |
| South Carolina | $108,110 | $51.98/hr | $75,350 | $36.23/hr |
| North Carolina | $106,640 | $51.27/hr | $75,270 | $36.19/hr |
| Indiana | $106,390 | $51.15/hr | $82,530 | $39.68/hr |
| Utah | $105,200 | $50.58/hr | $77,280 | $37.15/hr |
| Idaho | $104,600 | $50.29/hr | $75,550 | $36.32/hr |
| New Mexico | $104,550 | $50.26/hr | $75,130 | $36.12/hr |
| Montana | $104,480 | $50.23/hr | $76,910 | $36.98/hr |
| Rhode Island | $103,990 | $50.00/hr | $98,590 | $47.40/hr |
| Vermont | $103,450 | $49.74/hr | $82,490 | $39.66/hr |
| Michigan | $103,230 | $49.63/hr | $78,180 | $37.59/hr |
| North Dakota | $102,070 | $49.07/hr | $81,370 | $39.12/hr |
| Ohio | $101,980 | $49.03/hr | $79,580 | $38.26/hr |
| Texas | $101,470 | $48.78/hr | $74,520 | $35.83/hr |
| Nebraska | $100,820 | $48.47/hr | $75,570 | $36.33/hr |
| Oklahoma | $100,690 | $48.41/hr | $73,040 | $35.11/hr |
| Mississippi | $99,520 | $47.85/hr | $66,910 | $32.17/hr |
| Iowa | $99,280 | $47.73/hr | $78,510 | $37.75/hr |
| Kentucky | $97,020 | $46.64/hr | $73,490 | $35.33/hr |
| Alabama | $96,960 | $46.61/hr | $64,120 | $30.83/hr |
| West Virginia | $95,740 | $46.03/hr | $80,060 | $38.49/hr |
| Wyoming | $92,320 | $44.39/hr | $78,250 | $37.62/hr |
| Arkansas | $86,310 | $41.50/hr | $61,230 | $29.44/hr |
Career path and progression
What the work involves at each stage. BLS publishes wages for the occupation as a whole, not by years of experience or license tier, so no pay figures are shown here.
Trade or field entry
Works in a trade or as a laborer and learns sequencing, means and methods, and how a jobsite actually runs. Most people who end up running projects start here.
Foreman or field supervisor
Directs a crew, coordinates with other trades, handles inspections, and owns daily production. This is the work BLS counts under SOC 47-1011.
Project manager or construction manager
Owns budget, schedule, procurement, submittals, and client communication across one or more projects. This is the work BLS counts under SOC 11-9021.
Licensed contractor or owner
Holds the license a jurisdiction requires to contract directly with owners, pull permits, and carry the risk on a job. OEWS does not cover this role, so no wage figure on this page applies to it.
Specialties and work settings
OEWS publishes wages at the detailed occupation level only, so none of the benchmark occupations above is broken out by the specialties below. They are described here for career planning only.
Residential remodeling
Kitchens, baths, additions, and whole-home renovation. Heavy client contact, small crews, and tight sequencing across many trades in occupied homes.
Custom home building
Ground-up single-family work with long schedules, allowance management, and a large subcontractor roster.
Commercial and tenant improvement
Retail, office, and institutional fit-outs. Larger contracts, formal submittal and change-order processes, and prevailing-wage or bonding requirements on some jobs.
Design-build
One contract covering design and construction. Requires estimating early against incomplete drawings and carrying more of the design risk.
Self-perform versus brokering
Some contractors run their own crews on core scopes, others coordinate subcontractors exclusively. The choice changes payroll, insurance, and equipment costs, none of which OEWS measures.
Specialty and restoration
Insurance restoration, historic work, and disaster response. Work volume is event-driven rather than steady, which BLS projections do not model at this level.
Licenses and credentials in this trade
Contractor licensing is set by states and localities and differs between them, including which project sizes and trades require a license at all. BLS does not publish a wage premium for any license or credential, so none is claimed here.
| Credential | Full name | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor license | State or local general contractor license | Authorizes contracting directly with an owner and pulling permits. The classification system, exam, experience requirement, bonding, and insurance minimums are set by the state or locality, and several states delegate licensing to counties or cities. Check the authority where you plan to work. |
| OSHA 30 | OSHA 30-Hour Construction Outreach Training | Voluntary safety outreach training on construction hazards. It is a training course rather than a credential OSHA issues, and many owners and general contractors ask for it before site access. |
| PMP | Project Management Professional | A general project management credential from the Project Management Institute. It is not construction specific and is not required to contract. |
| LEED AP | LEED Accredited Professional | A US Green Building Council credential for professionals working on LEED certified projects. Relevant on commercial work with sustainability requirements. |
| ICC certification | International Code Council certification | Code certifications covering inspection and plan review across building disciplines. Useful for code literacy and inspection roles. |
General Contractor pay compared with related occupations
Every row is a single BLS detailed occupation with its own SOC code, May 2025 OEWS medians, and 2024–2034 projected growth. Rows are not adjusted for hours, region, or self-employment.
| Occupation | Median annual | Median hourly | Growth 2024–2034 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction managerThis guideConstruction Managers | $114,990 | $55.28 | 8.7% |
| Construction field supervisorThis guideFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers | $79,920 | $38.42 | 5.3% |
| Plumber and pipefitterPlumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | $63,800 | $30.67 | 4.5% |
| ElectricianElectricians | $63,190 | $30.38 | 9.5% |
| HVACR technicianHeating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers | $61,010 | $29.33 | 8.1% |
| RooferRoofers | $55,440 | $26.65 | 5.9% |
| PainterPainters, Construction and Maintenance | $49,400 | $23.75 | 3.8% |
Employment projections, 2024–2034
Projection figures come from the BLS National Employment Matrix for each benchmark occupation below. They use a broader employment concept than the OEWS wage-and-salary counts, so the two employment figures are not interchangeable.
Construction Managers (SOC 11-9021)
550,300
Employment, 2024
National Employment Matrix base year
598,400
Projected employment, 2034
National Employment Matrix projection
+48,100
Net employment change, 2024–2034
BLS published net change
8.7%
Projected growth, 2024–2034
percent change in employment
46,800
Average annual openings, 2024–2034
includes growth plus separations
3.1%
All occupations, 2024–2034
benchmark growth rate
BLS projects 8.7% employment growth for this occupation from 2024 to 2034, above the 3.1% BLS projects for all occupations.
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (SOC 47-1011)
921,600
Employment, 2024
National Employment Matrix base year
970,600
Projected employment, 2034
National Employment Matrix projection
+49,000
Net employment change, 2024–2034
BLS published net change
5.3%
Projected growth, 2024–2034
percent change in employment
74,400
Average annual openings, 2024–2034
includes growth plus separations
3.1%
All occupations, 2024–2034
benchmark growth rate
BLS projects 5.3% employment growth for this occupation from 2024 to 2034, above the 3.1% BLS projects for all occupations.
The two benchmarks project differently. BLS expects construction manager employment to rise from 550,300 in 2024 to 598,400 in 2034, a net gain of 48,100 positions and an average of 46,800 openings a year. It expects first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers to rise from 921,600 to 970,600, a net gain of 49,000 positions and an average of 74,400 openings a year. Both are above the 3.1% BLS projects for all occupations, and in both cases annual openings far exceed net new positions because most openings come from workers leaving the occupation. BLS reports that 35.8% of construction managers were self employed in 2024, which is a reminder that a large share of people doing this work are not represented in the OEWS wage figures at all.
Methodology and sources
- Benchmark occupation:
- Construction Managers (SOC 11-9021)
- Benchmark occupation:
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (SOC 47-1011)
- Wage source:
- May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026; reviewed July 2026.
- Projection source:
- BLS Employment Projections and National Employment Matrix, 2024–2034, released August 28, 2025.
- Median vs mean:
- The median is the midpoint of the wage distribution. The mean is the arithmetic average and is usually higher. Headline figures on this page are medians.
- Scope:
- OEWS covers wage and salary workers. It excludes self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms, so it does not measure owner earnings, draws, or business profit.
- Occupation scope:
- Construction Managers covers people employed to plan, coordinate, budget, and supervise construction projects. It does not identify licensed contractors who own the business they work in.
- Occupation scope:
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers covers supervisors on payroll across construction and extraction. It includes extraction supervision, which has nothing to do with general contracting, and it excludes owners of unincorporated firms.
- Note:
- All wage figures are the 11-9021 and 47-1011 rows of the May 2025 OEWS national and state cross-industry files. All projection figures are the 11-9021 and 47-1011 rows of the BLS 2024-2034 occupational projections table.
- Note:
- The two benchmarks are reported separately and are never averaged. A blended figure would describe neither occupation.
- Note:
- No figure on this page represents the income of a general contractor who owns the business. OEWS excludes self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms, and this guide does not substitute another source for that gap.
- Note:
- The self-employment share cited in the outlook section is the percent self employed column of the BLS 2024-2034 projections table.
- Coverage caveat:
- State tables list only the states with a published OEWS median for this occupation. BLS suppresses estimates that do not meet its disclosure or reliability standards, and published employment levels are rounded, so a published net change can differ slightly from the difference between the rounded 2024 and 2034 levels.
- Last reviewed:
- July 2026
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about general contractor pay, answered from the published data.
BLS does not publish a general contractor wage, so there is no official answer. The two closest occupations in the May 2025 OEWS release were construction managers at a median of $114,990 a year ($55.28 an hour) and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers at a median of $79,920 a year ($38.42 an hour). Both are employee wages. Neither measures owner income.
Because general contractor is a business role that maps onto two different BLS occupations depending on how the work is done. Construction managers is the management-side occupation, SOC 11-9021. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers is the field-side occupation, SOC 47-1011. Averaging them would produce a number that describes neither, so this guide reports them separately.
No. OEWS collects wages from establishments about people on their payroll and excludes self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms. Owner take-home pay depends on revenue, job costing, overhead, and business structure rather than on a wage rate, and this page does not publish a figure for it.
Among the states in this guide, the highest May 2025 OEWS annual medians for construction managers were New York at $155,360, Washington at $155,070, Massachusetts at $145,010, Alaska at $139,190, and New Jersey at $138,230. These are state medians for SOC 11-9021, not offers for any individual role.
Among the states in this guide, the highest May 2025 OEWS annual medians for first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers were Washington at $109,570, Illinois at $105,750, New Jersey at $105,510, Oregon at $103,070, and Hawaii at $102,630. These are state medians for SOC 47-1011.
Licensing is handled by states and in some cases by counties or cities. The classification system, exam, experience requirement, bonding, and insurance minimums differ between them, and so does the project size at which a license becomes mandatory. Check the licensing authority for the specific state and locality where you plan to work.
BLS projects 8.7% growth for construction managers between 2024 and 2034, from 550,300 to 598,400, and 5.3% growth for first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, from 921,600 to 970,600. Both are above the 3.1% projected for all occupations.
No. OEWS publishes wage percentiles for an occupation as a whole and does not break wages out by years of experience, license class, project type, or credential. Any figure presented that way comes from a different source.
ServBuilder helps general contractors schedule projects, manage crews, and invoice faster.
ServBuilder helps general contractor businesses manage scheduling, invoicing, and dispatch, so you can focus on the work.