Statewide pay Government data
Construction laborers in Missouri earn a statewide median of $56,730 a year, 21% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #11 of 50 states and DC. About 17,050 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Missouri
See all states on the construction laborers nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes construction laborer pay for 8 Missouri metros. The highest-paying is St. Louis at $64,500, followed by Jefferson City and Cape Girardeau.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. LouisMISSOURI · MO | $64,500 | $67,832 | 8,670 |
| Jefferson CityMISSOURI · MO | $58,220 | $66,178 | 580 |
| Cape GirardeauMISSOURI · MO | $58,140 | $67,543 | 220 |
| ColumbiaMISSOURI · MO | $56,810 | $63,519 | 470 |
| St. JosephMISSOURI · MO | $51,760 | $59,920 | 280 |
| Kansas CityMISSOURI · MO | $50,500 | $54,569 | 6,580 |
| JoplinMISSOURI · MO | $49,880 | $58,191 | 510 |
| SpringfieldMISSOURI · MO | $47,830 | $53,993 | 1,020 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Missouri's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 120,000 openings a year. Typical training: short-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, construction laborers have 218 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 2.5× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often construction laborers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of construction laborer apprentices in Missouri who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 47% completed (U.S.: 40%), about 123 graduates a year. The typical program runs 4,000 hours, about 2 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
From 2015 to 2024, structural and exterior contractors in Missouri filed 102 severe injury reports (a hospital stay, amputation or loss of an eye), 11 of them involving an amputation. The most common cause was falls, slips and trips (58% of reports). These cover everyone at those employers, not only construction laborers. OSHA also opened 30 fatality investigations at structural and exterior contractors in Missouri over the same years (federal and state programs).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Licensing in Missouri Official source
Missouri licenses most trades at the city or county level. Check with the building or licensing office where you plan to work.
Requirements for construction laborers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 9.8% of wage and salary workers in Missouri were union members, close to the U.S. rate of about 10% (#22 of 51 states and D.C.), and 11.2% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only construction laborers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Missouri
All trades in Missouri.