In our weekly quest to analyze each individual construction profession by state, we’ll examine brick and block masons. The three previous professions we examined were heavy equipment operators, and electricians . You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.
Masonry workers, specifically brick and block masons, have been around for centuries and are one of the construction industries oldest professions. Before blocks were prefabricated and purchased, masons had to cut the material by hand before placing. Recently, robotic brick and block placing robots have threatened to take some jobs away from human masons, but that technology is still a long way away from making a huge impact on the profession.
All data below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s most recent reports from May 2016. Data for the state of Alaska was unavailable for this work category, unfortunately.
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Brick & Block Mason, by State
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Brick & Block Mason, by State
50. Mississippi-- $16.94/hour
49. Florida-- $17.29/hour
48. South Carolina-- $17.37/hour
47. Georgia-- $17.56/hour
46. North Carolina-- $18.29/hour
45. Arkansas-- $18.84/hour
44. Alabama-- $19.07/hour
43. Utah-- $19.14/hour
42. West Virginia-- $19.44/hour
41. New Mexico-- $19.50/hour
40. Louisiana-- $19.58/hour
39. Maine-- $19.61/hour
38. Arizona-- $19.89/hour
37. Oklahoma-- $20.57/hour
36. Maryland-- $20.91/hour
35. Texas-- $21.04/hour
34. Iowa-- $21.86/hour
33. Tennessee-- $22.08/hour
32. Colorado-- $22.56/hour
31. Indiana-- $22.73/hour
30. Michigan-- $22.97/hour
29. Nevada-- $23.03/hour
28. Virginia-- $23.07/hour
27. Idaho-- $23.33/hour
26. New Hampshire-- $23.36/hour
25. Kentucky-- $24.02/hour
24. Oregon-- $24.11/hour
23. Vermont-- $24.33/hour
22. Montana-- $24.56/hour
21. Nebraska-- $24.81/hour
20. Kansas-- $24.87/hour
19. South Dakota-- $25.26/hour
18. Ohio-- $25.38/hour
17. Wisconsin-- $25.71/hour
16. Wyoming-- $26.18/hour
15. Delaware-- $26.22/hour
14. Pennsylvania-- $26.36/hour
13. Hawaii-- $28.40/hour
12. North Dakota-- $28.50/hour
11. California-- $29.10/hour
10. Connecticut-- $29.72/hour
9. New Jersey-- $30.41/hour
8. District of Columbia-- $30.58/hour
7. Missouri-- $30.96/hour
6. Rhode Island-- $32.14/hour
5. Minnesota-- $33.36/hour
4. Washington-- $35.18/hour
3. Illinois-- $35.31/hour
2. New York-- $35.57/hour
1. Massachusetts-- $37.28/hour
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Brick & Block Mason - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state's adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state. All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017. The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state.
Again, data for the state of Alaska was unavailable for this work category.
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Brick & Block Mason - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
50. Hawaii-- $9.54/hour
49. District of Columbia-- $14.25/hour
48. Maryland-- $15.26/hour
47. California-- $15.83/hour
46. Oregon-- $16.47/hour
45. Maine-- $17.32/hour
44. Florida-- $17.55/hour
43. South Carolina-- $17.61/hour
42. Georgia-- $19.21/hour
41. North Carolina-- $19.28/hour
40. Mississippi-- $19.40/hour
39. Utah-- $20.04/hour
38. West Virginia-- $20.24/hour
37. New Hampshire-- $20.56/hour
36. Arizona-- $20.59/hour
35. Louisiana-- $20.64/hour
34. New Mexico-- $20.65/hour
33. Alabama-- $20.84/hour
32. Arkansas-- $21.21/hour
31. Nevada-- $21.79/hour
30. Colorado-- $21.91/hour
29. Virginia-- $22.56/hour
28. Oklahoma-- $22.67/hour
27. Texas-- $23.02/hour
26. New Jersey-- $23.57/hour
25. Vermont-- $23.62/hour
24. Iowa-- $23.63/hour
23. New York-- $24.33/hour
22. Montana-- $24.39/hour
21. Tennessee-- $24.42/hour
20. Connecticut-- $24.82/hour
19. Indiana-- $24.82/hour
18. Rhode Island-- $24.97/hour
17. Michigan-- $25.20/hour
16. Idaho-- $25.36/hour
15. South Dakota-- $25.36/hour
14. Kentucky-- $25.63/hour
13. Delaware-- $25.64/hour
12. Massachusetts-- $25.91/hour
11. Pennsylvania-- $25.94/hour
10. Wisconsin-- $26.38/hour
9. Nebraska-- $26.84/hour
8. Wyoming-- $27.10/hour
7. Ohio-- $27.33/hour
6. Kansas-- $27.43/hour
5. North Dakota-- $28.81/hour
4. Washington-- $32.37/hour
3. Minnesota-- $33.43/hour
2. Missouri-- $34.09/hour
1. Illinois-- $36.30/hour
In the midst of fierce discourse over the bipartisan infrastructure bill lies a unique opportunity for the United States.