How much do construction laborers make in North Carolina in 2026?

Construction laborers in North Carolina earn a median wage of $44,720 per year, which works out to roughly $21.50 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the number sitting right in the middle of the pay range — half of NC laborers earn more, half earn less.

The bottom quarter of earners — workers just getting started or picking up whatever hours they can find — come in at $37,380 a year, or about $17.97 an hour. The top quarter clears $49,070 a year, around $23.59 an hour. That spread of roughly $11,690 between the 25th and 75th percentile tells you there's real money left on the table if you're still sitting near the bottom of that range after a few years on the job.

These figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. They cover workers classified under the Construction Laborer occupation across North Carolina and include both full-time and part-time workers in the survey pool, so your actual full-time annual pay could sit higher than the median if you're pulling consistent 40-hour weeks year-round.

No union scale is currently available for this trade in North Carolina. The state has a relatively low union density in construction compared to states like New York or Illinois, so most laborers here work under open-shop conditions. That means your wage is largely set by your employer, your region of the state, and how much demand there is for crews in your area at any given time.

Location inside North Carolina matters more than many workers realize. The Charlotte metro and the Research Triangle — Raleigh, Durham, and Cary — are running heavy commercial and residential construction volume. More job sites competing for the same crew typically pushes pay up. Rural counties in the western mountains or the coastal plain tend to run closer to or below the state median. If you're willing to commute or relocate to a high-activity metro, that alone can move you from the 25th to the 75th percentile range.

What you do on the job matters too. General site cleanup and flagging work tends to stay near the lower end of that range. Laborers who specialize in concrete form work, excavation support, demolition, or hazardous material abatement — tasks that require certification or more physical skill — routinely command pay closer to or above the 75th percentile. Picking up an OSHA 30 card, a flagger certification, or a concrete finishing credential are low-cost moves that signal to contractors you're worth more per hour.

Experience is the most straightforward driver of pay in this trade. A laborer with five or more years on commercial job sites, who shows up reliably and can operate basic equipment like a skid steer or a plate compactor, is not the same hire as someone in their first season. Contractors know the difference and price it accordingly.

Overtime is a significant factor many laborers overlook when sizing up a job offer. North Carolina construction projects — especially large commercial builds or infrastructure work — regularly run 50- to 60-hour weeks during peak season. At the median rate of $21.50 an hour, ten hours of weekly overtime at time-and-a-half adds roughly $10,750 to your annual gross over a full year. That means a median-wage laborer working steady overtime can effectively earn at the 75th percentile or above without any raise at all.

Benefits vary widely in this trade. Some larger general contractors and specialty subcontractors offer health insurance, a 401(k), and paid time off. Smaller outfits often pay a higher hourly rate in lieu of benefits. When you're comparing offers, factor in the cost of buying your own health coverage — that can run $300 to $600 a month for a single adult depending on the plan — before deciding that the higher-hourly-no-benefits offer is actually better.

The bottom line for a construction laborer in North Carolina: $21.50 an hour is where the middle of the market sits right now. Where you land in that $17.97–$23.59 range depends on your location, your specialty skills, your reliability, and whether you're working enough hours to take advantage of overtime.