Construction Laborers in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,162
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$6,828
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,260
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$38,990
Kept after tax
$32,162
Worth in national money
$33,260
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for construction laborers is on the low side in Georgia. The middle earner gets $38,990. That is 46 of 51 states, and about 17.25% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations Georgia publishes, construction laborers lands at 410. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,990 you keep $32,162, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,260 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $41,530, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For construction laborers, Georgia sits in the lower band at $38,990, ranking 46 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 17.25%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Georgia, this work ranks 410 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Georgia income tax, retained pay for construction laborers on $38,990 is $32,162. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,260 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $41,530 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Construction Laborers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,450 |
| This salary | $38,990 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Georgia | $32,162 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,508 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,223 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $37,314 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,479 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Georgia earn less than $38,990. The published range is $27,880 up to $56,450, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,162 take-home in Georgia comes from $38,990. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 410 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Georgia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,260, the adjusted value of that $38,990 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 410 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for construction laborers in Georgia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $27,880 to $56,450. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,162, from $38,990, assumes a single Georgia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 410 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Georgia, so $33,260 — the adjusted value of that $38,990 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 410 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $41,530, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $27,880 at the bottom tenth to $56,450 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Georgia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $33,260 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $32,162.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Georgia is $41,530. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($27,880) and the ninetieth ($56,450) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $33,260 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $32,162 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.