BuildTotals

Installation prices: planning estimates. Official BLS worker wage data is identified separately below.

Contractor costs in Michigan

Regional labor cost ranges for common DIY projects in Michigan. These are estimates for planning purposes - always get multiple quotes from licensed local contractors.

Construction labor wages in Michigan

Official BLS data · OEWS 2025

The actual pay range for 20 building trades in Michigan — 10th percentile, median, and 90th percentile hourly wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These describe worker pay; they do not verify or calculate the installation prices below.

Scroll the table horizontally to compare all wage columns. Keyboard: focus the table, then use the arrow keys.

Trade 10th %ile Median /hr 90th %ile Employed in MI
Construction supervisors $27.47 $37.59 $57.69 16,660
Carpenters $21.42 $29.66 $39.36 18,590
Cement masons & concrete finishers $21.09 $28.78 $36.37 6,350
Drywall & ceiling-tile installers $20.50 $28.10 $37.00 1,050
Tapers $29.28 $30.59 $33.95 190
Tile & stone setters $15.22 $23.05 $32.79 1,010
Floor layers (non-carpet) $17.72 $22.50 $35.90 670
Floor sanders & finishers $18.00 $24.71 $28.66 —
Carpet installers $14.05 $23.46 $37.85 470
Painters $18.00 $24.35 $36.38 4,920
Glaziers $21.79 $25.37 $35.41 2,040
Insulation workers $15.56 $22.35 $38.28 710
Plasterers & stucco masons $23.25 $35.09 $38.59 210
Brickmasons & blockmasons $23.27 $30.53 $43.72 2,240
Roofers $20.15 $28.62 $38.59 3,090
Electricians $20.66 $36.67 $49.58 23,530
Plumbers & pipefitters $22.38 $38.56 $49.73 14,120
HVAC technicians $19.33 $29.26 $45.81 12,590
Equipment operators $22.29 $30.14 $43.55 9,500
Construction laborers $17.90 $23.84 $33.60 28,490

How building-trade pay has moved since 2019

Median hourly wage by year for Michigan's headline trades — a 7-year OEWS series (2019–2025) that deepens with each annual BLS release.

Carpenters +32% since 2019
$29.66/hr

$22.41 in 2019 → $29.66 in 2025

Electricians +24% since 2019
$36.67/hr

$29.54 in 2019 → $36.67 in 2025

Plumbers & pipefitters +22% since 2019
$38.56/hr

$31.61 in 2019 → $38.56 in 2025

Construction laborers +29% since 2019
$23.84/hr

$18.53 in 2019 → $23.84 in 2025

State-specific BLS wage signals

These comparisons are calculated from the same official OEWS 2025 rows above, so they vary by Michigan's actual trade mix instead of repeating a national average. These are worker wages, not contractor billing rates - a contractor's quote adds overhead, insurance, equipment, and margin.

Highest median wage in state

Plumbers & pipefitters

$38.56/hr

Source: BLS OEWS 2025

Largest reported construction trade

Construction laborers

28,490 employed

Source: BLS OEWS 2025

Biggest premium vs trade median

Plasterers & stucco masons

+$8.45/hr vs $26.64

Median across states with this BLS trade row, OEWS 2025

Fastest median-wage growth

Insulation workers

+ 51% since 2019

Source: BLS OEWS 2019-2025

Trade wage detail pages

Official BLS wage detail pages for high-employment construction trades in Michigan.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2019–2025. These are worker wages, not contractor billing rates — a contractor's quote adds overhead, insurance, equipment, and margin. These additions vary by contractor and project.

Installation labor estimates

Labor only; materials excluded. These ranges have no published job sample or calculation on this page. Use them as a starting point for local quotes.

Concrete labor (per cu yd installed) $75 - $128
Interior painting (per sq ft) $1.70 - $3.00
6ft privacy fence (per linear ft) $18 - $37
LVP/laminate flooring install (per sq ft) $2.20 - $4.20
Drywall hang+tape+mud (per sq ft) $1.70 - $3.00

Find a contractor in Michigan

When a project is beyond DIY scale, get quotes from licensed local contractors. Always verify contractor license status with Michigan's contractor licensing board.