The 15 Best-Paying Cities for Masons

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Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Porch.

With a still-hot real estate market driving demand for construction, many construction companies are eager to fill roles and keep projects moving ahead.

But as is the case in many segments of the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact has made it more difficult for employers to attract and retain labor, and the construction industry is still struggling to hire.

Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the construction industry had 410,000 open positions, even with the economy continuing to recover and hiring picking up again last fall.

These issues only exacerbated existing concerns in the industry about a shortage of qualified labor: One industry association recently estimated that America needs to hire 2.2 million more construction workers to keep up with demand between now and 2024.

To determine the locations with the best pay for masons, researchers at Porch calculated the median annual wage for cement masons and concrete finishers, adjusted for cost-of-living differences. The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about our methodology at the end.

Following are the best-paying metropolitan areas for masons.

15. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $53,203
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $62,460
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $71,420
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -6.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +17.4%

14. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $54,089
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $52,520
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $55,980
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -33.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): -2.9%

13. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $54,961
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $56,720
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $66,830
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): +0.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +3.2%

12. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $54,973
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $51,400
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $49,640
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -23.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): -6.5%

11. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $55,080
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $58,440
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $55,250
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): +42.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +6.1%

10. Kansas City, MO-KS

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $55,565
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $52,620
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $53,510
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): +83.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): -5.3%

9. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $56,156
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $56,830
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $54,590
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -42.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +1.2%

8. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $57,580
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $59,710
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $52,580
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): +128.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +3.7%

7. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $57,908
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $59,240
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $57,890
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -44.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +2.3%

6. Cleveland-Elyria, OH

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $63,161
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $58,740
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $55,450
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -36.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): -7.0%

5. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $66,715
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $63,980
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $60,930
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): +9.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): -4.1%

4. St. Louis, MO-IL

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $68,234
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $65,300
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $67,400
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -31.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): -4.3%

3. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $69,589
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $77,940
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $67,500
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): +0.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +12.0%

2. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $71,002
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $74,410
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $79,110
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -26.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): +4.8%

1. Pittsburgh, PA

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• Median annual wage for masons (adjusted): $74,389
• Median annual wage for masons (actual): $71,190
• Median annual wage for all construction workers (actual): $53,410
• Concentration of mason workers (compared to average): -66.0%
• Cost of living (compared to average): -4.3%

Methodology

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The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities dataset and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.

To determine the locations with the best pay for masons, researchers calculated the median annual wage for cement masons and concrete finishers, adjusted for cost-of-living differences. In the event of a tie, the location with the higher unadjusted median annual wage was ranked higher. To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included.

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