This is the 22nd 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 pipelayers, concrete finishers, and crane operators. You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.
Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, commonly referred to as "rod busters," are responsible for positioning and tying reinforcing steel rebar, cables, and mesh for use in concrete. Rebar workers are usually also responsible for bending and cutting the reinforcement material.
Below you'll find a breakout of how each state compensates their rod busterss. All data below comes from the BLS' most recent reports from May 2016.
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, by State
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, by State
51. Alabama -- Data Not Available/hour
50. Alaska -- Data Not Available/hour
49. Delaware -- Data Not Available/hour
48. Idaho -- Data Not Available/hour
47. Kansas -- Data Not Available/hour
46. Maine -- Data Not Available/hour
45. Michigan -- Data Not Available/hour
44. Montana -- Data Not Available/hour
43. New Hampshire -- Data Not Available/hour
42. Rhode Island -- Data Not Available/hour
41. Utah -- Data Not Available/hour
40. Vermont -- Data Not Available/hour
39. Wyoming -- Data Not Available/hour
38. South Dakota -- $15.65/hour
37. Oklahoma -- $16.88/hour
36. North Carolina -- $18.25/hour
35. Iowa -- $18.44/hour
34. Tennessee -- $18.55/hour
33. Arkansas -- $18.86/hour
32. Florida -- $19.01/hour
31. Georgia -- $19.53/hour
30. Mississippi -- $20.54/hour
29. Texas -- $21.00/hour
28. District of Columbia -- $21.41/hour
27. North Dakota -- $21.96/hour
26. Colorado -- $22.15/hour
25. Wisconsin -- $22.34/hour
24. South Carolina -- $22.67/hour
23. Virginia -- $23.49/hour
22. Nebraska -- $24.17/hour
21. Maryland -- $24.49/hour
20. Ohio -- $24.75/hour
19. Kentucky -- $24.94/hour
18. Minnesota -- $25.18/hour
17. California -- $25.59/hour
16. Arizona -- $25.76/hour
15. Oregon -- $26.26/hour
14. Louisiana -- $26.28/hour
13. West Virginia -- $27.18/hour
12. New Mexico -- $27.29/hour
11. Pennsylvania -- $27.61/hour
10. Missouri--$28.96/hour
9. Nevada -- $30.56/hour
8. Washington -- $30.84/hour
7. Connecticut -- $31.48/hour
6. Massachusetts -- $32.02/hour
5. Hawaii -- $34.71/hour
4. Indiana -- $38.36/hour
3. Illinois -- $39.38/hour
2. New York -- $40.72/hour
1. New Jersey -- $40.92/hour
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers - 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 Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers- Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
51. Alabama -- Data Not Available/hour
50. Alaska -- Data Not Available/hour
49. Delaware -- Data Not Available/hour
48. Idaho -- Data Not Available/hour
47. Kansas -- Data Not Available/hour
46. Maine -- Data Not Available/hour
45. Michigan -- Data Not Available/hour
44. Montana -- Data Not Available/hour
43. New Hampshire -- Data Not Available/hour
42. Rhode Island -- Data Not Available/hour
41. Utah -- Data Not Available/hour
40. Vermont -- Data Not Available/hour
39. Wyoming -- Data Not Available/hour
38. District of Columbia -- $9.98/hour
37. Hawaii -- $11.66/hour
36. California -- $13.92/hour
35. South Dakota -- $15.71/hour
34. Maryland -- $17.88/hour
33. Oregon -- $17.94/hour
32. Oklahoma -- $18.60/hour
31. North Carolina -- $19.24/hour
30. Florida -- $19.30/hour
29. Iowa -- $19.93/hour
28. Tennessee -- $20.52/hour
27. Arkansas -- $21.24/hour
26. Georgia -- $21.37/hour
25. Colorado -- $21.51/hour
24. North Dakota -- $22.20/hour
23. Massachusetts -- $22.25/hour
22. Wisconsin -- $22.92/hour
21. Virginia -- $22.97/hour
20. Texas -- $22.97/hour
19. South Carolina -- $22.99/hour
18. Mississippi -- $23.52/hour
17. Minnesota -- $25.23/hour
16. Nebraska -- $26.15/hour
15. Connecticut -- $26.29/hour
14. Kentucky -- $26.61/hour
13. Ohio -- $26.66/hour
12. Arizona -- $26.66/hour
11. Pennsylvania -- $27.17/hour
10. Louisiana--$27.70/hour
9. New York -- $27.85/hour
8. West Virginia -- $28.29/hour
7. Washington -- $28.37/hour
6. New Mexico -- $28.90/hour
5. Nevada -- $28.91/hour
4. New Jersey -- $31.71/hour
3. Missouri -- $31.88/hour
2. Illinois -- $40.48/hour
1. Indiana -- $41.89/hour
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