How much do rebar workers make in New Jersey in 2026?

Rebar workers in New Jersey are among the better-paid ironworkers in the country. The median annual wage for this trade in the state is $116,110, which works out to roughly $55.82 an hour on a standard 2,080-hour year. That is a strong baseline even before overtime enters the picture, and overtime is common on the concrete-heavy commercial and infrastructure projects that define much of New Jersey's construction landscape.

The full spread of pay tells you where you stand in the field. Workers at the 25th percentile — those earlier in their careers or working in slower regional markets — earn around $110,510 a year, or about $53.13 an hour. The 75th percentile comes in at $130,270 annually, roughly $62.63 an hour. That $19,760 gap between the bottom and top quartile is meaningful. It reflects differences in experience, project type, employer, and geography within the state. Getting from entry-level to the upper tier is achievable, but it usually takes a combination of years on the job, specialization, and the right employer relationships.

New Jersey's construction market is dense and project-driven. The state sits inside one of the most active construction corridors in the country, with ongoing infrastructure work on bridges, tunnels, highway interchanges, and large mixed-use developments in the Hudson County and Newark metro areas. Rebar work on those jobs tends to pay more and stay more consistent than work on smaller residential pours. If you can get onto large commercial or public infrastructure projects — the kind that require significant reinforced concrete — you are more likely to see wages toward or above the median.

Overtime is a real factor in annual earnings. A rebar worker putting in 10 extra hours a week for six months of the year at the 25th-percentile hourly rate would add roughly $16,000 to their annual gross. The BLS figures used here represent straight-time wages for full-time workers and do not capture overtime, per diem, or travel pay, all of which can shift your actual take-home considerably on bigger jobs.

Experience and skill level are the most direct levers on pay. A journeyman who can read structural drawings accurately, handle complex column and beam cage work without constant supervision, and manage a small crew is worth more to an employer than one limited to simple mat or slab tying. Adding skills like post-tension work or prefab cage assembly expands the jobs you qualify for and gives you more negotiating room.

Geography within New Jersey matters too. The northeastern corridor — Essex, Hudson, Union, and Bergen counties — tends to produce the heaviest construction volume and supports wages closer to the upper percentiles. Southern and rural parts of the state see less commercial work, which can mean slower seasons and more downtime between contracts.

Some workers in this trade may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates.

All figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. BLS collects data from employer payroll records and reports straight-time wages for full-time workers. It does not capture bonuses, profit-sharing, or the full value of employer-paid benefits, so total compensation on many NJ job sites exceeds what these numbers alone show.