General Laborer Salary in Arizona

$36/hr

Real hourly bands by level, certification premiums, and what your rate is worth in this market.

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What general laborers earn in Arizona

This guide covers what general laborers are actually paid in Arizona — hourly rather than salaried, because that is how the work is priced. The bands below separate the three rungs of the trade, so an apprentice rate is never averaged against a master rate to produce a number neither of them earns.

Every figure is a market estimate built from live postings and reported pay. Treat it as the starting point for a conversation about your rate, not as an offer.

Hourly rates by level in Arizona

What each rung of the trade is paid, before overtime and per diem.

Apprentice · 0–2 yrs
$18–$24/hr
▲ 3.1% from last year
Journeyman · 4–8 yrs
$26–$34/hr
▲ 4.2% from last year
Master · 8+ yrs
$36–$46/hr
▲ 3.6% from last year

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Where do you stand?

Enter your hourly rate to see how it compares to other general laborers in Arizona.

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$/ hr

Use your base rate, not what you take home after overtime.

You're right around the middle

$28.00 is above roughly 46% of this market. The top quarter starts at $36.00, and the median sits at $29.00.

10th
$18
25th
$23
Median
$29
75th
$36
90th
$45
YOU · $28.00
Your percentile
46th
Among this market
Your annual · 40 hrs
$58,240
Before overtime and per diem
Gap to median
−$2,080
Below the median

Build your rate

Pick your level, add certifications, select shift — the estimate updates live.

1Your level

2Certifications you hold

3Shift & work type

4Overtime & per diem

Weekly overtime hours8 hrs
Per diem (per day away)$0

An estimate, not an offer. Overtime is paid at time and a half past forty hours.

American RecruitsEstimate
Journeyman General Laborer
Arizona · Day Shift
Base rate$30.00
+ OSHA 10$0.75
+ OSHA 30$2.00
+ First Aid / CPR$0.50
Effective hourly$33.25
Straight · 40 hrs$1,330
Overtime · 8 hrs @ 1.5×$399
Weekly gross$1,729
Annualised · 50 weeks
$86,450
8 OT hrs/week · Arizona

Who pays the most in Arizona

Same licence, same state, very different money.

01 / 06$38/hr

Industrial & plant

Refineries, chemical plants and power generation. The highest rates in the trade, paid for shutdown schedules and a much heavier safety burden.

+ Top of the market
+ Long overtime runs
– Shutdown hours
– Strict permitting
02 / 06$36/hr

Data centre & mission critical

Hyperscale builds and critical-facility retrofits. Schedule-driven work with real premiums for anyone who has done it before.

+ Steady pipeline
+ Premium for experience
– Night phases
– Escorted access
03 / 06$31/hr

Commercial construction

Offices, schools, hospitals and retail. The largest slice of the market and the easiest to move around inside without changing your certifications.

+ Most openings
+ Predictable hours
– Middle of the pay range
04 / 06$34/hr

Utility & infrastructure

Transmission, water, and public works. Slower-moving projects with long contracts and rates set by prevailing-wage schedules.

+ Long contracts
+ Prevailing wage
– Travel between sites
05 / 06$25/hr

Residential

Housing, remodels and light service work. The easiest entry into the trade and the lowest rates once you are past apprentice level.

+ Easy to break into
+ Local work
– Lowest rates
– Seasonal swings
06 / 06$29/hr

Service & maintenance

Facilities and contract maintenance. Year-round work with call-out premiums and far less exposure to the construction cycle.

+ Steady all year
+ Call-out pay
– On-call rotations

Which states pay general laborers the most

Median hourly across every state with a published guide for this trade. Cost of living is not netted out — compare take-home, not just the rate.

  1. 01Arizonathis page$36/hr
  2. 02California$28.98/hr
  3. 03Virginia$20.94/hr

What each certification is worth

Sorted by payback speed.

CertificationRate bumpExtra / yearCostPayback
OSHA 10+$0.75$1,560$893 weeks
OSHA 30+$2$4,160$1893 weeks
First Aid / CPR+$0.50$1,040$754 weeks
Aerial Lift / Forklift+$1.25$2,600$2506 weeks
Confined Space Entry+$1.75$3,640$4507 weeks
HAZWOPER 40+$3.25$6,760$7957 weeks

What overtime actually adds

Past forty hours the rate is time and a half. Built from the rate above. At $36.00/hr.

40 hr week
$1,440
No OT
50 hr week
$1,980
+$27,000/yr
60 hr week
$2,520
+$54,000/yr
70 hr week
$3,060
+$81,000/yr

Questions workers ask

What does a general laborer earn in Arizona?▾
The typical general laborer in Arizona sits around $36 an hour, with most of the market falling between the apprentice and master bands above. Where you land inside that range comes down to years on the tools, the certifications you hold, and the sector you work in — the same licence pays very differently on a data centre than on a residential remodel.
What is the fastest way to raise my hourly rate?▾
Certifications move a rate faster than time served. The table above ranks them by payback: a ticket that costs a few hundred dollars and adds a dollar an hour pays for itself inside a month, and it travels with you between employers. After that, the biggest single jump is usually moving sector rather than moving employer.
How much does overtime actually add?▾
Past forty hours the rate is time and a half, so a fifty-hour week is not twenty-five percent more money — it is closer to thirty-eight. Use the overtime block above with your own rate. Sustained overtime is also the part of the number that disappears first when a job winds down, so treat it as upside rather than as your base.
Is it worth travelling for work?▾
Travel and turnaround work carry a premium, and per diem is paid on top of the hourly rate rather than inside it. Add both in the rate builder before you compare an away job to one close to home — a smaller hourly with a per diem often nets more than a larger one without, and the difference over a year is rarely small.
What should I ask for when I get an offer?▾
Bring a number, not a range, and anchor it to something checkable: the percentile band above, the certifications you already hold, and the sector rate for the work. Ask what the overtime expectation actually is and whether per diem is paid, because two offers with the same hourly can be thousands apart once both are counted.

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Last updated September 4, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.