This is the 20th installment of Construction Junkie's weekly analysis of the hourly wages of each individual construction profession by state. The three previous professions we examined were crane operators, floor layers, and insulation workers. You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.
Concrete finishers smooth and finish concrete surfaces like curbs, floors, and roads. Most are also responsible for cutting control and expansion joints as the concrete hardens. OSHA's new silica dust regulations have added an additional wrinkle to the concrete finishers job, as they are now required to greatly limit their exposure to silica containing dust.
Below you'll find a breakout of how each state compensates their concrete finishers. All data below comes from the BLS' most recent reports from May 2016.
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Concrete Finishers, by State
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of Concrete Finishers, by State
51. Mississippi -- $14.07/hour
50. Oklahoma -- $15.49/hour
49. Texas -- $16.28/hour
48. Arkansas -- $16.30/hour
47. Georgia -- $16.35/hour
46. Alabama -- $16.42/hour
45. Maine -- $16.47/hour
44. Florida -- $16.50/hour
43. North Carolina -- $16.64/hour
42. Vermont -- $17.00/hour
41. South Carolina -- $17.03/hour
40. South Dakota -- $17.11/hour
39. Tennessee -- $17.14/hour
38. Idaho -- $17.17/hour
37. Nebraska -- $17.31/hour
36. Kentucky -- $17.58/hour
35. New Mexico -- $18.29/hour
34. Iowa -- $18.54/hour
33. Utah -- $18.60/hour
32. Arizona -- $18.63/hour
31. West Virginia -- $18.81/hour
30. Wyoming -- $19.35/hour
29. Colorado -- $19.36/hour
28. Kansas -- $19.43/hour
27. Virginia -- $20.09/hour
26. North Dakota -- $20.29/hour
25. Indiana -- $20.35/hour
24. Nevada -- $20.53/hour
23. Delaware -- $20.82/hour
22. Michigan -- $20.93/hour
21. Maryland -- $21.26/hour
20. Ohio -- $21.69/hour
19. New Hampshire -- $22.22/hour
18. Pennsylvania -- $22.42/hour
17. Montana -- $22.67/hour
16. District of Columbia -- $22.78/hour
15. Oregon -- $22.79/hour
14. Missouri -- $23.01/hour
13. Minnesota -- $24.21/hour
12. Wisconsin -- $24.41/hour
11. California -- $24.42/hour
10. Massachusetts--$24.62/hour
9. Connecticut -- $24.63/hour
8. Louisiana -- $24.63/hour
7. Rhode Island -- $25.12/hour
6. Washington -- $25.41/hour
5. New Jersey -- $27.83/hour
4. Illinois -- $30.18/hour
3. New York -- $32.30/hour
2. Hawaii -- $32.35/hour
1. Alaska -- $32.43/hour
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Concrete Finishers - 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.
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of Concrete Finishers- Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
51. District of Columbia -- $10.62/hour
50. Hawaii -- $10.87/hour
49. California -- $13.28/hour
48. Maine -- $14.54/hour
47. Maryland -- $15.52/hour
46. Oregon -- $15.57/hour
45. Mississippi -- $16.11/hour
44. Vermont -- $16.51/hour
43. Florida -- $16.75/hour
42. Oklahoma -- $17.07/hour
41. Massachusetts -- $17.11/hour
40. South Dakota -- $17.18/hour
39. South Carolina -- $17.27/hour
38. North Carolina -- $17.54/hour
37. Texas -- $17.81/hour
36. Georgia -- $17.89/hour
35. Alabama -- $17.95/hour
34. Arkansas -- $18.35/hour
33. Idaho -- $18.66/hour
32. Nebraska -- $18.73/hour
31. Kentucky -- $18.76/hour
30. Colorado -- $18.80/hour
29. Tennessee -- $18.96/hour
28. Arizona -- $19.28/hour
27. New Mexico -- $19.37/hour
26. Nevada -- $19.42/hour
25. Utah -- $19.47/hour
24. Rhode Island -- $19.52/hour
23. New Hampshire -- $19.55/hour
22. West Virginia -- $19.58/hour
21. Virginia -- $19.65/hour
20. Wyoming -- $20.03/hour
19. Iowa -- $20.04/hour
18. Delaware -- $20.36/hour
17. North Dakota -- $20.51/hour
16. Connecticut -- $20.57/hour
15. Kansas -- $21.43/hour
14. New Jersey -- $21.57/hour
13. Pennsylvania -- $22.06/hour
12. New York -- $22.09/hour
11. Indiana -- $22.22/hour
10. Montana--$22.51/hour
9. Alaska -- $22.57/hour
8. Michigan -- $22.96/hour
7. Ohio -- $23.36/hour
6. Washington -- $23.38/hour
5. Minnesota -- $24.26/hour
4. Wisconsin -- $25.04/hour
3. Missouri -- $25.33/hour
2. Louisiana -- $25.96/hour
1. Illinois -- $31.03/hour
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