How to read this: BLS does not track home builders as their own occupation. These figures cover "Construction Managers" (SOC 11-9021), which counts home building work alongside related roles, so read them as the band rather than the exact number.
The average home builder in the United States earns $124,360 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $114,990. That works out at about $59.79 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: New York averages $159,510 and Arkansas $88,920. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a home builder actually does for that money
Construction managers is the closest counted occupation to a builder, and it covers the people running projects for firms rather than the ones who own them. A custom builder running two houses a year is a business owner and does not appear in this data; a superintendent for a production builder does.
What home builders 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% | $69,690 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $88,550 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $114,990 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $151,640 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $189,440 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Home Building salary by state
New York pays the most at $159,510 a year, and Arkansas the least at $88,920. 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 | New York | $159,510 | $155,360 | $76.69 | 10,280 |
| 2 | Washington | $158,890 | $155,070 | $76.39 | 6,010 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $155,900 | $145,010 | $74.95 | 9,870 |
| 4 | Alaska | $153,030 | $139,190 | $73.57 | 1,720 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $151,170 | $138,230 | $72.68 | 6,910 |
| 6 | California | $141,670 | $133,160 | $68.11 | 34,750 |
| 7 | Delaware | $140,850 | $132,150 | $67.72 | 610 |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $140,780 | $126,430 | $67.69 | 1,250 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $138,040 | $129,260 | $66.37 | 660 |
| 10 | Oregon | $137,040 | $131,420 | $65.89 | 4,300 |
| 11 | Maryland | $136,590 | $128,330 | $65.67 | 5,770 |
| 12 | Connecticut | $133,180 | $125,190 | $64.03 | 3,620 |
| 13 | Hawaii | $129,760 | $128,910 | $62.39 | 2,890 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $128,650 | $123,400 | $61.85 | 5,800 |
| 15 | Colorado | $128,440 | $124,830 | $61.75 | 12,550 |
| 16 | Florida | $128,210 | $113,130 | $61.64 | 34,010 |
| 17 | Virginia | $127,200 | $119,110 | $61.15 | 7,290 |
| 18 | Nevada | $124,280 | $115,250 | $59.75 | 4,460 |
| 19 | South Carolina | $123,420 | $108,110 | $59.34 | 5,620 |
| 20 | South Dakota | $123,320 | $118,380 | $59.29 | 1,070 |
| 21 | Georgia | $122,830 | $110,810 | $59.05 | 10,740 |
| 22 | Tennessee | $122,250 | $110,200 | $58.78 | 5,860 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $121,360 | $114,190 | $58.35 | 6,080 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $121,000 | $108,250 | $58.17 | 6,840 |
| 25 | Missouri | $120,590 | $112,230 | $57.98 | 3,680 |
| 26 | Kansas | $120,510 | $120,810 | $57.94 | 2,960 |
| 27 | Arizona | $120,460 | $114,680 | $57.91 | 9,910 |
| 28 | Louisiana | $119,740 | $110,010 | $57.57 | 5,530 |
| 29 | North Carolina | $119,310 | $106,640 | $57.36 | 16,310 |
| 30 | Maine | $117,740 | $110,070 | $56.60 | 1,460 |
| 31 | Montana | $117,710 | $104,480 | $56.59 | 2,140 |
| 32 | Illinois | $117,010 | $109,160 | $56.26 | 19,160 |
| 33 | Indiana | $116,730 | $106,390 | $56.12 | 5,450 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | $115,420 | $100,690 | $55.49 | 1,980 |
| 35 | Rhode Island | $115,280 | $103,990 | $55.42 | 450 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $115,100 | $104,550 | $55.34 | 2,480 |
| 37 | Michigan | $113,660 | $103,230 | $54.65 | 9,620 |
| 38 | Texas | $112,680 | $101,470 | $54.17 | 59,060 |
| 39 | Iowa | $112,130 | $99,280 | $53.91 | 3,070 |
| 40 | Kentucky | $111,410 | $97,020 | $53.56 | 2,990 |
| 41 | Utah | $111,080 | $105,200 | $53.41 | n/a |
| 42 | North Dakota | $110,550 | $102,070 | $53.15 | 1,450 |
| 43 | Idaho | $110,300 | $104,600 | $53.03 | 2,280 |
| 44 | Ohio | $109,120 | $101,980 | $52.46 | 16,130 |
| 45 | Vermont | $109,090 | $103,450 | $52.45 | 930 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $108,110 | $99,520 | $51.98 | 1,640 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $107,500 | $100,820 | $51.68 | 3,430 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $104,420 | $92,320 | $50.20 | n/a |
| 49 | Alabama | $102,970 | $96,960 | $49.51 | 8,560 |
| 50 | West Virginia | $102,040 | $95,740 | $49.06 | 600 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $88,920 | $86,310 | $42.75 | 2,280 |
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 home builders the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $168,220 | $80.88 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $164,760 | $79.21 |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $163,750 | $78.73 |
| 4 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $163,350 | $78.53 |
| 5 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $162,800 | $78.27 |
| 6 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $159,530 | $76.70 |
| 7 | Longview-Kelso, WA | $157,890 | $75.91 |
| 8 | Bellingham, WA | $156,450 | $75.22 |
| 9 | Yakima, WA | $155,820 | $74.91 |
| 10 | Anchorage, AK | $154,950 | $74.49 |
What moves the number
- Builders are licensed at the state and often the county level, commonly with an exam, proven experience and a bond. Requirements vary enormously and are the first thing to check before signing anything.
- A house runs seven to eighteen months, so a builder is paid on a small number of large events rather than on hours. Cycle time matters more to annual earnings than the day rate.
- High-performance and custom building pay above production work per house, and construction management is where the reported wages in this occupation actually sit.
- The bottom ten percent of home builders earn under $69,690 and the top ten percent clear $189,440. 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 home builders 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 home builder wage and an owner income opens up.
Home Building salary FAQs
- How much do home builders make a year?
- The median home builder in the United States earns $114,990 a year and the average is $124,360, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do home builders make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $59.79. 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 home builders the most?
- New York pays the most at an average of $159,510 a year, followed by Washington at $158,890 and Massachusetts at $155,900. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay home builders the most?
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA tops the list at an average of $168,220 a year, with San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at $164,760. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can home builders earn six figures?
- Yes. The top ten percent of home builders earn $189,440 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 home builders?
- 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 home building salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Construction Managers" (SOC 11-9021). 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.
