Construction Laborers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,169
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$9,421
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,649
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$49,590
Kept after tax
$40,169
Worth in national money
$42,649
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 20 of 51 states for construction laborers, with a middle wage of $49,590. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Construction laborers ranks 304 among 493 occupations Michigan publishes pay for.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,590 you keep $40,169, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,649 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $53,130, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan ranks 20 of 51 for construction laborers at $49,590. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 304 of 493 in Michigan places construction laborers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for construction laborers on $49,590 is $40,169. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,649 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 $53,130 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 | $37,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,890 |
| This salary | $49,590 |
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 Michigan | $40,169 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,026 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$598 |
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 | $47,279 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$723 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $49,590 as a midpoint for Michigan, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,220 and the ninetieth is $69,890 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $40,169, from $49,590, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 304 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $42,649, the adjusted value of that $49,590 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Michigan. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 304 of 493 locally.
- The Michigan median of $49,590 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,220 to $69,890. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Michigan is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $40,169 from $49,590. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 304 of 493 locally.
- This $42,649 adjusted figure, worked from $49,590, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 304 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 304 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $53,130, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,220 at the tenth percentile, $69,890 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $42,649 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Michigan's own levy, $40,169 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Michigan is $53,130. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,220 to $69,890) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $42,649 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 $40,169 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.