Construction has long been a male-dominated field. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only about 11% of payroll employees in the construction industry are women. However, a promising shift is underway. Following ongoing efforts to diversify the construction workforce, the U.S. Department of Labor announced in April 2023 the availability of $5 million to encourage and support women in registered apprenticeship programs in underrepresented industries like construction. And with the construction industry facing a massive worker shortage, the recruitment of women into construction careers will likely continue to grow in importance.
Female Construction Employment Over Time
The share of women in construction has increased steadily over the past several years
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
While there is still a long way to go to achieve proportional representation, the share of female employment in construction has been increasing in recent years. Prior to 2016, women accounted for roughly nine out of every 100 employees in the construction workforce. However, since then, the female employment share climbed nearly every year and sits at 11.1% as of 2022.
Female Construction Employment by Occupation Type
Women in the construction industry are most likely to work in office positions
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
Nationwide, there are over 1.2 million women working in construction, compared to the nearly 10 million men in the industry. In addition to differences in total employment, men and women tend to fill different occupations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women who work in construction are most likely to work in office or administrative positions. By contrast, men have much higher representation in roles often performed out in the field, such as maintenance, construction, transportation, and production.
Construction Industry Wages by Sex
Full-time female workers earn more in construction than in other industries and experience smaller wage gaps
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
A major benefit for women in the construction industry is that they tend to command higher wages than female workers in other fields. The median full-time wage for women in construction is $52,478 per year, compared to $51,400 for female workers across all industries. Interestingly, the opposite is true for men in construction, who generally earn less than the typical male worker. In addition, men and women in the construction industry report relatively equal pay. While the national gender pay gap across all industries is 18%, the gender pay gap in construction is only 3.6%.
Geographic Differences in Female Employment in the Construction Industry
Alaska and Hawaii lead all states for female employment in the construction industry
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
While the construction industry is male-dominated nationally, the underrepresentation of women in construction is less pronounced in certain parts of the country. Perhaps a result of their relatively high compensation levels for construction workers, Alaska (14.9%) and Hawaii (13.1%) lead the nation in female employment share in construction. Areas in the Pacific Northwest and South Atlantic also have higher female representation in the field, with all states in those regions employing women in construction at or higher than the national average.
Similar trends hold at the metropolitan level. Florida boasts the three major metros with the largest female employment share in construction: Jacksonville (16.9%), Orlando (15.0%), and North Port (14.3%). Conversely, areas in California like Bakersfield (8.3%), Oxnard (8.7%), Riverside (9.1%), and Los Angeles (9.1%) are among the lowest ranked metros for female construction employment.
Below is a list of major U.S. metropolitan areas with the most women in construction. For complete rankings of the 100 most populous metros and all 50 states, see the Full Results section below. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Construction Coverage, a website that compares construction software and insurance, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For more information, refer to the methodology section.
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15. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.0%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 12,877
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 85,879
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $48,547
Photo Credit: Bonnie Fink / Shutterstock
14. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.1%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 14,942
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 99,142
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $48,915
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
13. New Orleans-Metairie, LA
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.2%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 6,022
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 39,690
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $50,468
Photo Credit: photo.ua / Shutterstock
12. Colorado Springs, CO
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.3%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 3,653
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 23,819
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $58,084
Photo Credit: John S. Quinn / Shutterstock
11. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.4%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 6,798
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 43,899
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $53,436
Photo Credit: ja-images / Shutterstock
10. Urban Honolulu, HI
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.5%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 4,450
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 28,392
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $73,306
Photo Credit: lunamarina / Shutterstock
9. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.6%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 5,409
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 34,404
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $47,941
Photo Credit: Patricia Elaine Thomas / Shutterstock
8. Dayton-Kettering, OH
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.7%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 2,795
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 17,631
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $55,770
Photo Credit: mahaloshine / Shutterstock
7. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.8%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 19,669
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 122,705
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $76,163
Photo Credit: f11photo / Shutterstock
6. Charleston-North Charleston, SC
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 13.9%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 4,175
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 25,963
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $52,054
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
5. Akron, OH
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 14.1%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 3,034
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 18,472
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $57,295
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
4. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 14.2%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 12,960
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 78,428
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $67,137
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
3. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 14.3%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 4,585
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 27,376
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $53,310
Photo Credit: Songquan Deng / Shutterstock
2. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 15.0%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 15,229
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 86,050
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $47,987
Photo Credit: CHARLES MORRA / Shutterstock
1. Jacksonville, FL
- Female employment share in the construction industry: 16.9%
- Total female employment in the construction industry: 9,298
- Total male employment in the construction industry: 45,652
- Median earnings for full-time workers in the construction industry: $54,268
Methodology
Photo Credit: Yuri A / Shutterstock
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey. To determine the locations with the most women in construction, researchers at Construction Coverage ranked locations by the percentage of employees in the construction industry that are female. In the event of a tie, locations with the higher total female employment in the construction industry were ranked higher. Additionally, due to statistical significance limitations of the dataset, only the top 100 metropolitan areas by population with complete data were included in the analysis.
For complete results, see Cities With the Most Women in Construction on Construction Coverage.