Construction Laborers in the San Juan area earn a median of $24,270 a year, 48% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #388 of 391 metros for construction laborers nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Guayama and Arecibo, but less in Ponce.
It's one of 6 Puerto Rico metros with published pay for this trade; see construction laborer pay in Puerto Rico.
Construction Laborer pay in San Juan at a glance
- Construction laborers in the San Juan, PR metro earn a median $24,270 a year ($11.67 an hour), #388 of 391 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $21,870 and $32,970.
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $581 a month, 29% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
- About 7,060 construction laborers work in the metro.
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among construction laborers in San Juan.
Comparing two real offers with overtime and commutes? Use the job offer checker.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for construction laborers here is in the bottom 20% of U.S. metros.
San Juan scorecard for construction laborers Our calculation
Grades compare San Juan with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers.
Pay over time
The median pay for construction laborers in the San Juan area went from $18,550 in 2020 to $24,270 in 2025, up 30.8%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's +4.4% — a real raise.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
Rent in San Juan
Typical rent is $581 a month for a 1-bedroom and $683 for a 2-bedroom.
What construction laborers do
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.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.
- Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
- Signal equipment operators to facilitate alignment, movement, or adjustment of machinery, equipment, or materials.
- Read plans, instructions, or specifications to determine work activities.
- Measure, mark, or record openings or distances to layout areas where construction work will be performed.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, construction laborer jobs are projected to grow 7.3% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 120,000 openings a year. About 27% are self-employed.
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.
Licensing in Puerto Rico Official source
Check with local authorities in Puerto Rico. 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.
On-the-job safety Government data
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.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying PR metros for construction laborers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| GuayamaPUERTO RICO · PR | $27,470 | — | 90 |
| AreciboPUERTO RICO · PR | $26,530 | — | 350 |
| San JuanPUERTO RICO · PR | $24,270 | — | 7,060 |
| AguadillaPUERTO RICO · PR | $24,250 | — | 620 |
| MayaguezPUERTO RICO · PR | $23,820 | — | 500 |
| PoncePUERTO RICO · PR | $23,510 | — | 660 |
See every metro in Puerto Rico.
How much work is there? Government data
Getting to work
The average commute in the San Juan area is 30 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 22% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 82% drive alone, 1% take transit and 6% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Homes in San Juan
The San Juan area has about 1,021,466 homes. 53% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is older than most; 4% were built in 2010 or later. Older homes often need more repair, replacement and upgrade work. 69% of households own their home, and the median home value is $152,300.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
In 2025 the San Juan area approved permits for 1,546 new homes (1,459 single-family), or 0.8 per 1,000 residents, ranking #371 of 393 metros, a slower building market than most.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $24,270 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get construction laborer pricing & estimate templates →Compare San Juan with another city →
Keep exploring
Could this trade pay more somewhere else?
ToolBest cities for construction laborersRank every metro on pay, buying power, rent and jobs.Is a job offer here any good?
ToolCheck an offer in San JuanSee where it falls among local construction laborers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolSan Juan budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the San Juan metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank San Juan against every other metro for construction laborers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.
Report a data issue on this page
BEA doesn't publish price levels for San Juan, so real pay isn't shown. The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for construction laborers as a separate industry, so that section is left out.