Highest-paying construction jobs in Austin

The term "recession-proof" has taken on a new and important meaning in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, a meaning that has been renewed during the pandemic. One recession-proof industry has proven to be construction. Residential and commercial real estate, roads, bridges, power and energy, hotels—each of these sectors has weathered economic storms and proven to be dependable ways for a person to support a family.

The American Institutes of Architects' Consensus Construction Forecast predicts that nonresidential construction will grow 4.6%, while the overall commercial construction market will see a 5.4% increase. This is against market expectations of global construction gains of 3.7%, meaning the U.S. market is expected to be ahead of the curve. Moreover, road and highway construction is expected to reach $108 billion annually by 2024.

Aside from ongoing supply chain woes that have caused delays in materials delivery, one source of concern in construction is workforce shortages. Analysis from Deloitte says that labor shortages are the result of a lack of qualified candidates and a skills gap between generations in an industry growing more technologically savvy by the year.

But this does not mean there are no jobs out there—to the contrary, there are a great number of construction jobs out there, and many of them are high-paying and offer career opportunities. To that end, Stacker compiled a list of the highest paying jobs in construction in Austin using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked based on annual pay as of May 2020. Job descriptions are from O*NET.

1 / 30

#30. Rock splitters, quarry

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $31,330
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 130

National
- Annual mean salary: $38,430
- Employment: 4,640
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($41,940)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($41,480)
--- Bloomington, IN ($41,470)
- Job description: Separate blocks of rough dimension stone from quarry mass using jackhammers, wedges, or chop saws.

2 / 30

#29. Construction laborers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $32,960
- #316 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 8,380

National
- Annual mean salary: $43,000
- Employment: 971,330
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($66,670)
--- Kankakee, IL ($65,730)
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($63,860)
- Job description: Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.

3 / 30

#28. Helpers--carpenters

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $35,100
- #49 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 150

National
- Annual mean salary: $35,360
- Employment: 30,900
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Salem, OR ($64,070)
--- New Bedford, MA ($45,720)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($44,900)
- Job description: Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

4 / 30

#27. Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $35,830
- #50 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 740

National
- Annual mean salary: $34,990
- Employment: 55,740
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($62,520)
--- Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI ($51,590)
--- Anchorage, AK ($45,980)
- Job description: Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

5 / 30

#26. Roofers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $36,640
- #212 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 760

National
- Annual mean salary: $47,010
- Employment: 128,680
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Worcester, MA-CT ($82,700)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($71,520)
--- Trenton, NJ ($71,260)
- Job description: Cover roofs of structures with shingles, slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, or related materials. May spray roofs, sidings, and walls with material to bind, seal, insulate, or soundproof sections of structures.

6 / 30

#25. Helpers--electricians

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $36,710
- #42 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 700

National
- Annual mean salary: $35,440
- Employment: 73,920
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Cedar Rapids, IA ($55,070)
--- New Orleans-Metairie, LA ($53,920)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($52,310)
- Job description: Help electricians by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

7 / 30

#24. Painters, construction and maintenance

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $37,280
- #250 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,770

National
- Annual mean salary: $46,460
- Employment: 217,880
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($69,360)
--- Salinas, CA ($64,630)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($63,070)
- Job description: Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.

8 / 30

#23. Glaziers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $37,890
- #126 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $50,970
- Employment: 52,190
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Olympia-Tumwater, WA ($89,250)
--- Salem, OR ($85,640)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($81,240)
- Job description: Install glass in windows, skylights, store fronts, and display cases, or on surfaces, such as building fronts, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops.

9 / 30

#22. Fence erectors

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $38,120
- #30 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $40,120
- Employment: 27,010
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Bakersfield, CA ($75,170)
--- Columbus, OH ($72,360)
--- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($68,570)
- Job description: Erect and repair fences and fence gates, using hand and power tools.

10 / 30

#21. Highway maintenance workers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $38,400
- #210 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 500

National
- Annual mean salary: $43,200
- Employment: 149,890
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($72,040)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($66,270)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($65,290)
- Job description: Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.

You may also like: Highest-rated Cajun restaurants in Austin by diners

11 / 30

#20. Cement masons and concrete finishers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $39,100
- #256 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,870

National
- Annual mean salary: $49,390
- Employment: 195,580
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($86,370)
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($81,730)
--- Rockford, IL ($78,320)
- Job description: Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.

12 / 30

#19. Carpenters

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $40,200
- #311 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 2,840

National
- Annual mean salary: $54,200
- Employment: 699,300
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($82,950)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($82,300)
--- Hanford-Corcoran, CA ($79,870)
- Job description: Construct, erect, install, or repair structures and fixtures made of wood and comparable materials, such as concrete forms; building frameworks, including partitions, joists, studding, and rafters; and wood stairways, window and door frames, and hardwood floors. May also install cabinets, siding, drywall, and batt or roll insulation. Includes brattice builders who build doors or brattices (ventilation walls or partitions) in underground passageways.

13 / 30

#18. Pipelayers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $41,230
- #67 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 630

National
- Annual mean salary: $45,060
- Employment: 33,950
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ($77,880)
--- Eugene, OR ($76,240)
--- Worcester, MA-CT ($72,600)
- Job description: Lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. Perform any combination of the following tasks: grade trenches or culverts, position pipe, or seal joints.

14 / 30

#17. Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $41,460
- #72 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 790

National
- Annual mean salary: $46,400
- Employment: 44,560
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Worcester, MA-CT ($80,010)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($73,360)
--- Evansville, IN-KY ($71,030)
- Job description: Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.

15 / 30

#16. Brickmasons and blockmasons

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $41,590
- #165 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $58,420
- Employment: 59,940
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Duluth, MN-WI ($90,610)
--- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA ($90,290)
--- Pittsfield, MA ($90,070)
- Job description: Lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances, to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures.

You may also like: Car insurance rates in Austin October 2025

16 / 30

#15. Drywall and ceiling tile installers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $41,660
- #114 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,070

National
- Annual mean salary: $51,930
- Employment: 99,700
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($90,640)
--- Bellingham, WA ($78,580)
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($78,170)
- Job description: Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fireproofing, or acoustical material.

17 / 30

#14. Earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $41,700
- #82 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 480

National
- Annual mean salary: $51,040
- Employment: 22,540
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Lafayette, LA ($98,100)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($69,160)
--- Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY ($69,090)
- Job description: Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.

18 / 30

#13. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $43,500
- #270 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 2,910

National
- Annual mean salary: $55,280
- Employment: 402,870
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($96,440)
--- Barnstable Town, MA ($93,620)
--- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ($93,320)
- Job description: Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.

19 / 30

#12. Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $43,540
- #65 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $43,930
- Employment: 29,880
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Joplin, MO ($71,930)
--- Stockton-Lodi, CA ($70,340)
--- Rochester, MN ($63,200)
- Job description: Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or drains. May patch walls and partitions of tank, replace damaged drain tile, or repair breaks in underground piping.

20 / 30

#11. Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $43,800
- #85 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 910

National
- Annual mean salary: $48,500
- Employment: 40,240
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($106,100)
--- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($84,840)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($78,360)
- Job description: Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.

21 / 30

#10. Reinforcing iron and rebar workers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $45,830
- #28 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $54,700
- Employment: 18,680
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($108,740)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($83,410)
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($76,310)
- Job description: Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.

22 / 30

#9. Sheet metal workers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $49,900
- #138 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 720

National
- Annual mean salary: $55,320
- Employment: 128,220
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Fairbanks, AK ($132,900)
--- Kankakee, IL ($91,140)
--- Olympia-Tumwater, WA ($87,030)
- Job description: Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.

23 / 30

#8. Pile driver operators

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $51,880
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $71,880
- Employment: 3,820
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ($106,390)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($106,160)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($97,650)
- Job description: Operate pile drivers mounted on skids, barges, crawler treads, or locomotive cranes to drive pilings for retaining walls, bulkheads, and foundations of structures such as buildings, bridges, and piers.

24 / 30

#7. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $52,470
- #211 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 3,050

National
- Annual mean salary: $61,100
- Employment: 417,440
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($106,100)
--- Fairbanks, AK ($94,280)
--- Kankakee, IL ($93,420)
- Job description: Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases. May install heating and cooling equipment and mechanical control systems. Includes sprinkler fitters.

25 / 30

#6. Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $52,780
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 550

National
- Annual mean salary: $46,860
- Employment: 32,780
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($89,190)
--- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($79,670)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($71,130)
- Job description: Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.

You may also like: Highest-paying science jobs for people in Austin

26 / 30

#5. Electricians

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $53,770
- #214 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 5,190

National
- Annual mean salary: $61,550
- Employment: 656,510
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($106,680)
--- Trenton, NJ ($90,210)
--- Kankakee, IL ($88,530)
- Job description: Install, maintain, and repair electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures. Ensure that work is in accordance with relevant codes. May install or service street lights, intercom systems, or electrical control systems.

27 / 30

#4. Structural iron and steel workers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $56,090
- #66 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 350

National
- Annual mean salary: $58,650
- Employment: 71,490
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Trenton, NJ ($91,360)
--- Rockford, IL ($90,160)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($89,740)
- Job description: Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks. May erect metal storage tanks and assemble prefabricated metal buildings.

28 / 30

#3. Hazardous materials removal workers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $57,260
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $49,170
- Employment: 44,010
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Knoxville, TN ($79,260)
--- Salinas, CA ($72,170)
--- Kennewick-Richland, WA ($70,300)
- Job description: Identify, remove, pack, transport, or dispose of hazardous materials, including asbestos, lead-based paint, waste oil, fuel, transmission fluid, radioactive materials, or contaminated soil. Specialized training and certification in hazardous materials handling or a confined entry permit are generally required. May operate earth-moving equipment or trucks.

29 / 30

#2. Construction and building inspectors

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $64,530
- #93 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 830

National
- Annual mean salary: $66,470
- Employment: 113,770
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($103,820)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($102,920)
--- Salinas, CA ($98,360)
- Job description: Inspect structures using engineering skills to determine structural soundness and compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations. Inspections may be general in nature or may be limited to a specific area, such as electrical systems or plumbing.

30 / 30

#1. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Annual mean salary: $66,590
- #211 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 5,200

National
- Annual mean salary: $72,990
- Employment: 614,080
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($107,870)
--- Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA ($103,930)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($100,620)
- Job description: Directly supervise and coordinate activities of construction or extraction workers.