How to read this: BLS does not track general contractors as their own occupation. These figures cover "First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers" (SOC 47-1011), which counts contractor work alongside related roles, so read them as the band rather than the exact number.
The average general contractor in the United States earns $86,450 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $79,920. That works out at about $41.56 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: Washington averages $115,800 and Arkansas $65,690. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a general contractor actually does for that money
First-line supervisors of construction trades covers foremen and working supervisors rather than business owners, so this is what a contractor pays the person running the site, not what the contractor takes home. Owner income depends on job volume and margin and is not surveyed here at all.
What general contractors 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% | $53,280 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $63,400 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $79,920 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $101,460 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $128,260 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Contractor salary by state
Washington pays the most at $115,800 a year, and Arkansas the least at $65,690. 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 | Washington | $115,800 | $109,570 | $55.67 | 19,550 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $107,160 | $105,510 | $51.52 | 16,230 |
| 3 | Alaska | $106,430 | $102,140 | $51.17 | 2,690 |
| 4 | Oregon | $106,350 | $103,070 | $51.13 | 7,890 |
| 5 | California | $103,760 | $97,680 | $49.89 | 71,750 |
| 6 | Illinois | $103,450 | $105,750 | $49.74 | 19,340 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $103,000 | $102,630 | $49.52 | 2,890 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $100,030 | $97,850 | $48.09 | 18,330 |
| 9 | New York | $98,910 | $95,700 | $47.55 | 29,600 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $97,550 | $98,590 | $46.90 | 2,060 |
| 11 | Minnesota | $94,970 | $97,610 | $45.66 | 13,580 |
| 12 | North Dakota | $94,560 | $81,370 | $45.46 | 4,350 |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $93,780 | $86,520 | $45.09 | 1,420 |
| 14 | Connecticut | $93,030 | $92,260 | $44.73 | 6,980 |
| 15 | Nevada | $90,360 | $81,990 | $43.44 | 9,680 |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | $89,590 | $81,540 | $43.07 | 26,860 |
| 17 | Vermont | $88,960 | $82,490 | $42.77 | 1,010 |
| 18 | Missouri | $88,490 | $87,520 | $42.55 | 13,330 |
| 19 | Colorado | $87,220 | $81,230 | $41.93 | 21,380 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | $87,010 | $85,350 | $41.83 | 15,150 |
| 21 | New Hampshire | $86,940 | $81,220 | $41.80 | 3,590 |
| 22 | West Virginia | $86,780 | $80,060 | $41.72 | 5,380 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $86,670 | $78,250 | $41.67 | 3,270 |
| 24 | Indiana | $86,470 | $82,530 | $41.57 | 16,450 |
| 25 | Delaware | $84,520 | $81,100 | $40.64 | 2,590 |
| 26 | Maryland | $83,960 | $78,760 | $40.36 | 15,400 |
| 27 | Michigan | $82,990 | $78,180 | $39.90 | 16,660 |
| 28 | Ohio | $82,100 | $79,580 | $39.47 | 23,640 |
| 29 | Georgia | $81,870 | $78,430 | $39.36 | 26,770 |
| 30 | Virginia | $81,790 | $78,640 | $39.32 | 24,970 |
| 31 | Utah | $81,000 | $77,280 | $38.94 | 14,270 |
| 32 | New Mexico | $80,930 | $75,130 | $38.91 | 6,790 |
| 33 | Iowa | $80,500 | $78,510 | $38.70 | 9,660 |
| 34 | Kansas | $80,330 | $76,780 | $38.62 | 8,940 |
| 35 | Maine | $80,170 | $77,290 | $38.54 | 3,130 |
| 36 | Arizona | $80,070 | $78,550 | $38.50 | 21,550 |
| 37 | Montana | $79,770 | $76,910 | $38.35 | 4,350 |
| 38 | Florida | $79,200 | $75,790 | $38.08 | 69,830 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $78,970 | $77,690 | $37.96 | 2,360 |
| 40 | Idaho | $78,390 | $75,550 | $37.69 | 6,730 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $77,790 | $75,350 | $37.40 | 13,150 |
| 42 | North Carolina | $77,320 | $75,270 | $37.18 | 32,460 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $76,900 | $75,570 | $36.97 | 6,020 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $76,850 | $73,040 | $36.95 | 11,520 |
| 45 | Tennessee | $76,830 | $74,470 | $36.94 | 17,770 |
| 46 | Louisiana | $76,740 | $75,360 | $36.89 | 14,070 |
| 47 | Texas | $76,630 | $74,520 | $36.84 | 90,010 |
| 48 | Kentucky | $74,220 | $73,490 | $35.68 | 9,620 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $72,400 | $66,910 | $34.81 | 7,040 |
| 50 | Alabama | $71,050 | $64,120 | $34.16 | 13,580 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $65,690 | $61,230 | $31.58 | 6,590 |
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 general contractors the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $130,350 | $62.67 |
| 2 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $126,600 | $60.86 |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $121,660 | $58.49 |
| 4 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $119,190 | $57.30 |
| 5 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $118,990 | $57.21 |
| 6 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $113,820 | $54.72 |
| 7 | Bellingham, WA | $111,900 | $53.80 |
| 8 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $111,850 | $53.77 |
| 9 | Longview-Kelso, WA | $111,140 | $53.43 |
| 10 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $109,890 | $52.83 |
What moves the number
- General contractor licensing is the most involved in the industry: exams, proven experience, minimum net worth and a surety bond in many states, and it is the thing that lets you bid rather than sub.
- Earnings follow the size of the jobs you can carry rather than the hours you work, and cash flow, not the rate, is what limits most contractors.
- Commercial and public work pays above residential, and construction management pays above trade supervision.
- The bottom ten percent of general contractors earn under $53,280 and the top ten percent clear $128,260. 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 general contractors 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 general contractor wage and an owner income opens up.
Contractor salary FAQs
- How much do general contractors make a year?
- The median general contractor in the United States earns $79,920 a year and the average is $86,450, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do general contractors make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $41.56. 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 general contractors the most?
- Washington pays the most at an average of $115,800 a year, followed by New Jersey at $107,160 and Alaska at $106,430. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay general contractors the most?
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA tops the list at an average of $130,350 a year, with Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA at $126,600. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can general contractors earn six figures?
- Yes. The top ten percent of general contractors earn $128,260 or more. Getting there usually means a combination of licensing, specialization and either supervising a crew or running the business.
- Do these figures include self-employed general contractors?
- 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 contractor salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers" (SOC 47-1011). 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.
