Despite 21% Wage Growth, Construction Industry Struggles Most in These States [LendingTree Study]

Did you know that median hourly wages for construction workers jumped more than 20% from 2021 to 2024? 

On the surface, higher pay is encouraging, but it can also signal underlying challenges, such as severe labor shortages. To better understand the health of the construction industry, we measured key indicators in every state, revealing where the industry is thriving and where it’s struggling the most. Here's what we found. 

• Median hourly wages for construction workers rose 21% from 2021 to 2024, significantly outpacing the 8.2% growth across all occupations. This much sharper increase points to strong demand and hiring difficulties.
• Pennsylvania’s construction industry is under the most strain. Construction wages in the state grew 13.4 percentage points faster than overall wage growth, while industry employment was 7.4 points slower than total job growth — trends that indicate a tightening labor market. 
• The District of Columbia and Massachusetts tie for the next highest level of strain. The nation’s capital saw construction employment fall by 5.3% between 2021 and 2024, while overall employment grew by 7.1% — creating a -12.4 percentage point gap, the second-worst in our study.

• Idaho’s construction industry is the healthiest. Construction wage growth there has remained below the overall rate — suggesting employers aren’t facing labor shortages — and employment is expanding faster than in the economy as a whole.

You can check out the full report here: https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/construction-industry-study/

LendingTree's Chief Consumer Finance Analyst, Matt Schulz, had this to say:

"This is great news for construction workers. It is a different story for potential homebuyers, though, because it means the price of a newly built home is probably going to go up.”

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