The average fence installer in the United States earns $50,530 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $47,980. That works out at about $24.29 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: Alaska averages $64,000 and Georgia $39,320. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a fence installer actually does for that money
Fence erectors are a small, distinctly counted occupation, mostly working for fencing contractors or landscape firms. The work is largely residential, physically demanding, and heavily weather dependent, and demand spikes after storms in a way few trades match.
What fence installers earn, from bottom to top
An average hides the spread, and the spread is what matters when you are deciding whether to enter the trade or what to pay someone. Here is the full range BLS publishes.
| Percentile | Annual | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | $35,810 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $40,400 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $47,980 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $58,610 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $70,010 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Fencing salary by state
Alaska pays the most at $64,000 a year, and Georgia the least at $39,320. Cost of living explains part of that gap and licensing rules explain a good deal of the rest.
| # | State | Average annual | Median annual | Hourly | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $64,000 | $64,600 | $30.77 | 40 |
| 2 | Wisconsin | $62,410 | $51,410 | $30.00 | 200 |
| 3 | Nebraska | $61,720 | $50,120 | $29.67 | 190 |
| 4 | California | $58,390 | $56,060 | $28.07 | 3,150 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | $58,360 | $58,600 | $28.06 | 1,150 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $56,410 | $56,690 | $27.12 | 910 |
| 7 | Washington | $55,440 | $51,860 | $26.65 | 1,450 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $55,300 | $57,260 | $26.59 | n/a |
| 9 | Connecticut | $54,970 | $53,180 | $26.43 | 300 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $54,590 | $48,430 | $26.24 | n/a |
| 11 | Montana | $54,210 | $55,720 | $26.06 | 680 |
| 12 | Iowa | $53,740 | $52,510 | $25.84 | 290 |
| 13 | Illinois | $53,380 | $50,710 | $25.66 | 690 |
| 14 | West Virginia | $53,090 | $45,040 | $25.53 | 170 |
| 15 | Delaware | $52,890 | $50,630 | $25.43 | n/a |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $52,630 | $50,850 | $25.31 | 160 |
| 17 | Ohio | $52,240 | $47,870 | $25.11 | 950 |
| 18 | Indiana | $51,810 | $47,520 | $24.91 | 540 |
| 19 | Utah | $50,850 | $48,720 | $24.45 | 440 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $50,040 | $46,450 | $24.06 | n/a |
| 21 | Colorado | $49,840 | $48,380 | $23.96 | 270 |
| 22 | Kansas | $49,460 | $47,130 | $23.78 | 80 |
| 23 | North Dakota | $48,880 | $49,310 | $23.50 | 190 |
| 24 | Nevada | $48,660 | $46,940 | $23.40 | 210 |
| 25 | Arizona | $48,600 | $46,270 | $23.37 | n/a |
| 26 | New York | $48,350 | $48,000 | $23.25 | 1,010 |
| 27 | South Dakota | $48,010 | $48,380 | $23.08 | 170 |
| 28 | Maine | $46,640 | $45,310 | $22.42 | 160 |
| 29 | Tennessee | $46,520 | $45,330 | $22.37 | 550 |
| 30 | Florida | $45,750 | $45,550 | $21.99 | 2,020 |
| 31 | Virginia | $45,750 | $40,050 | $22.00 | n/a |
| 32 | Michigan | $45,080 | $45,800 | $21.67 | 460 |
| 33 | Oregon | $44,280 | $44,580 | $21.29 | n/a |
| 34 | Missouri | $44,230 | $43,290 | $21.27 | 640 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $43,900 | $44,450 | $21.11 | 270 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $43,610 | $46,150 | $20.97 | 270 |
| 37 | North Carolina | $43,050 | $39,100 | $20.70 | 670 |
| 38 | Alabama | $43,000 | $39,820 | $20.67 | n/a |
| 39 | Wyoming | $42,860 | $39,750 | $20.61 | n/a |
| 40 | Louisiana | $41,440 | $51,770 | $19.92 | 120 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $40,650 | $37,870 | $19.55 | 250 |
| 42 | Mississippi | $40,330 | $38,700 | $19.39 | 150 |
| 43 | Texas | $39,530 | $37,270 | $19.01 | 1,800 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $39,500 | $37,960 | $18.99 | n/a |
| 45 | Georgia | $39,320 | $36,990 | $18.90 | 500 |
Where the money is: highest paying metros
State averages flatten out the difference between a city and the rural county next to it. These are the metro areas paying fence installers the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $64,200 | $30.87 |
| 2 | Anchorage, AK | $64,170 | $30.85 |
| 3 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $63,720 | $30.64 |
| 4 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $62,040 | $29.83 |
| 5 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $59,990 | $28.84 |
| 6 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $59,630 | $28.67 |
| 7 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $59,450 | $28.58 |
| 8 | Modesto, CA | $59,060 | $28.40 |
| 9 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $58,500 | $28.13 |
| 10 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $58,240 | $28.00 |
What moves the number
- Usually covered by a general contractor license rather than a trade license, and in many states small jobs fall under the licensing threshold entirely.
- Strongly seasonal in cold climates and demand spikes after storms. The work is largely residential, so it tracks home improvement spending.
- Automated gates, commercial security fencing and ornamental iron pay well above wood privacy fence installation.
- The bottom ten percent of fence installers earn under $35,810 and the top ten percent clear $70,010. That gap is the trade telling you where the money is.
- Working for somebody else and working for yourself are different questions. These figures cover employed fence installers on a payroll, so they exclude the self-employed, and in this trade a large share of the best operators are exactly that.
What you can earn running the business instead
The number above is a wage. Running the business is a different calculation: you take the full ticket rather than an hourly rate, and what you keep depends on how many jobs you fit in a week, how quickly you get paid and how much of your day goes on scheduling, estimates and chasing invoices instead of on the work. That is the part software actually changes. Owners who put scheduling, estimating, invoicing and automated follow-up in one place tend to run more jobs with the same crew, which is where the gap between a fence installer wage and an owner income opens up.
Fencing salary FAQs
- How much do fence installers make a year?
- The median fence installer in the United States earns $47,980 a year and the average is $50,530, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do fence installers make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $24.29. Annual earnings are usually higher than that rate multiplied by a standard year, because overtime, call-outs and premium work are not in the base rate.
- Which state pays fence installers the most?
- Alaska pays the most at an average of $64,000 a year, followed by Wisconsin at $62,410 and Nebraska at $61,720. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay fence installers the most?
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA tops the list at an average of $64,200 a year, with Anchorage, AK at $64,170. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can fence installers earn six figures?
- As an employee it is uncommon: the top ten percent earn $70,010. Owners are a different question, because they are paid on the job rather than on the hour, and owner income is not in these figures.
- Do these figures include self-employed fence installers?
- No. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program covers wage and salary workers, so sole proprietors and business owners are excluded. In a trade with as many owner-operators as this one, that matters when you read the number.
- Where does this fencing salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Fence Erectors" (SOC 47-4031). It is a survey of employers rather than of workers, which is why it is more reliable than self-reported salary sites.
All wage figures on this page are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. BLS suppresses figures in areas with too few employers to publish safely; those appear as n/a rather than an estimate.
