While the median age of construction workers in the U.S. is 42, recent insight from the National Association of Homebuilders’ Eye On Housing blog indicates more members of Generation Z are entering the industry. Currently, the share of younger construction workers ages 25 and under increased to 10.8% in 2022 from 9% in 2015. During the same period, the proportion of workers aged 35 to 54 declined from 71.8% to 67.3%.
This trend is more prevalent in some states than others. The state with the oldest median age (45 years old) is West Virginia, followed by Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. In the central region of the U.S., construction workers tend to be younger on average, with half of all workers in Utah under 39 years old.
Analysis of the age distribution of construction workers over time reveals that Gen Z, those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, are more likely to enter the construction industry than Millennials, when they were the youngest generation in the labor force. They are drawn to careers in the construction industry due to factors, like the innovative aspects of modern construction technologies, high cost of college education, competitive wages in construction, job security and potential for growth.
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