Best degree programs for Construction Managers, ranked by enrollment
8 college programs and 2,545 schools train Construction Managers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $114,990 median wage, 380,360 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
8 college programs at 2,545 schools train construction managers, graduating 432,459 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Business Administration and Management, General. The job pays a median of $114,990 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About construction managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Participate in the conceptual development of a construction project and oversee its organization, scheduling, budgeting, and implementation. Includes managers in specialized construction fields, such as carpentry or plumbing.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
8 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0201 | 348,906 | 80.7% | 2,305 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0101 | 60,975 | 14.1% | 806 | $44,700 | $24,000 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0205 | 11,666 | 2.7% | 144 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 15.1001 | 5,391 | 1.2% | 146 | $72,178 | $22,750 |
| 5 | Construction Management, Generalmain feeder CIP 52.2001 | 5,389 | 1.2% | 144 | $72,249 | $24,326 |
| 6 | Construction Project Managementmain feeder CIP 52.2002 | 66 | 0.0% | 4 | $72,249 | $24,326 |
| 7 | CIP 44.0402 | 35 | 0.0% | 2 | $45,374 | $26,000 |
| 8 | Construction Management, Othermain feeder CIP 52.2099 | 31 | 0.0% | 1 | $72,249 | $24,326 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What construction managers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $133,160 | 34,750 | 0.78× | 223 | 60,157 |
| Texas | $101,470 | 59,060 | 1.72× | 149 | 31,893 |
| Florida | $113,130 | 34,010 | 1.40× | 98 | 26,731 |
| Arizona | $114,680 | 9,910 | 1.25× | 37 | 25,144 |
| Indiana | $106,390 | 5,450 | 0.70× | 48 | 19,001 |
| New York | $155,360 | 10,280 | 0.43× | 143 | 16,380 |
| North Carolina | $106,640 | 16,310 | 1.35× | 112 | 14,069 |
| New Hampshire | $129,260 | 660 | 0.39× | 19 | 13,423 |
| Virginia | $119,110 | 7,290 | 0.73× | 65 | 12,750 |
| Massachusetts | $145,010 | 9,870 | 1.11× | 64 | 12,246 |
| Colorado | $124,830 | 12,550 | 1.79× | 33 | 12,054 |
| Utah | $105,200 | — | — | 12 | 10,805 |
| Illinois | $109,160 | 19,160 | 1.28× | 92 | 10,694 |
| Pennsylvania | $108,250 | 6,840 | 0.46× | 126 | 10,689 |
| Georgia | $110,810 | 10,740 | 0.90× | 84 | 10,151 |
| Ohio | $101,980 | 16,130 | 1.19× | 104 | 9,341 |
| Kentucky | $97,020 | 2,990 | 0.61× | 47 | 8,395 |
| Michigan | $103,230 | 9,620 | 0.89× | 72 | 8,015 |
| Maryland | $128,330 | 5,770 | 0.85× | 42 | 7,901 |
| New Jersey | $138,230 | 6,910 | 0.66× | 50 | 7,811 |
| Alabama | $96,960 | 8,560 | 1.66× | 46 | 7,223 |
| Louisiana | $110,010 | 5,530 | 1.17× | 36 | 6,886 |
| Missouri | $112,230 | 3,680 | 0.51× | 58 | 6,877 |
| Minnesota | $123,400 | 5,800 | 0.80× | 59 | 6,351 |
| Idaho | $104,600 | 2,280 | 1.09× | 11 | 6,292 |
| West Virginia | $95,740 | 600 | 0.35× | 32 | 5,816 |
| South Carolina | $108,110 | 5,620 | 1.00× | 51 | 5,633 |
| Washington | $155,070 | 6,010 | 0.69× | 55 | 5,455 |
| Tennessee | $110,200 | 5,860 | 0.73× | 52 | 5,311 |
| Wisconsin | $114,190 | 6,080 | 0.84× | 52 | 4,954 |
| Oklahoma | $100,690 | 1,980 | 0.47× | 38 | 4,061 |
| Connecticut | $125,190 | 3,620 | 0.87× | 20 | 4,049 |
| Nebraska | $100,820 | 3,430 | 1.37× | 25 | 3,717 |
| Mississippi | $99,520 | 1,640 | 0.58× | 28 | 3,496 |
| Iowa | $99,280 | 3,070 | 0.80× | 43 | 3,193 |
| District of Columbia | $126,430 | 1,250 | 0.73× | 10 | 3,190 |
| Arkansas | $86,310 | 2,280 | 0.71× | 44 | 2,968 |
| Kansas | $120,810 | 2,960 | 0.84× | 38 | 2,842 |
| Oregon | $131,420 | 4,300 | 0.89× | 31 | 2,699 |
| New Mexico | $104,550 | 2,480 | 1.17× | 25 | 1,964 |
| Maine | $110,070 | 1,460 | 0.93× | 17 | 1,552 |
| Nevada | $115,250 | 4,460 | 1.18× | 9 | 1,412 |
| Rhode Island | $103,990 | 450 | 0.37× | 11 | 1,155 |
| Delaware | $132,150 | 610 | 0.51× | 6 | 1,032 |
| South Dakota | $118,380 | 1,070 | 0.95× | 17 | 1,008 |
| Montana | $104,480 | 2,140 | 1.71× | 18 | 977 |
| North Dakota | $102,070 | 1,450 | 1.38× | 16 | 914 |
| Hawaii | $128,910 | 2,890 | 1.89× | 9 | 782 |
| Vermont | $103,450 | 930 | 1.26× | 7 | 717 |
| Wyoming | $92,320 | — | — | 9 | 516 |
| Alaska | $139,190 | 1,720 | 2.16× | 7 | 385 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with building and safety codes or other regulations.
- Develop or implement quality control programs.
- Plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines.
- Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports.
- Direct and supervise construction or related workers.
- Determine labor requirements for dispatching workers to construction sites.
- Confer with supervisory personnel, owners, contractors, or design professionals to discuss and resolve matters, such as work procedures, complaints, or construction problems.
- Prepare contracts or negotiate revisions to contractual agreements with architects, consultants, clients, suppliers, or subcontractors.
Skills
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Active Learning3.9
- Monitoring3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Writing3.8
- Mathematics3.5
Knowledge areas
- Building and Construction4.7
- Administration and Management4.3
- Mathematics4.0
- Engineering and Technology4.0
- Customer and Personal Service3.9
- Mechanical3.8
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.1
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Information Ordering4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
Core activities
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.3
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.3
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work4.3
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.3
- Scheduling Work and Activities4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Construction Manager
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 8 majors mapped to Construction Managers8 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.1001Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
- 44.0402Public Works Management
- 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
- 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
- 52.0205Operations Management and Supervision
- 52.2001Construction Management, General
- 52.2002Construction Project Management
- 52.2099Construction Management, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Construction Manager?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 348,906 degrees in 2024-25, 80.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Construction Manager?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Construction Management, Construction Engineering Technology/Technician, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 432,459 people a year.
How much do construction managers earn?+
The median is $114,990 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $69,690 at the 10th percentile to $189,440 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for construction managers growing?+
BLS projects a +8.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 46,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
2,545 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do construction managers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Construction Foreman, Construction Manager, General Superintendent, Construction Superintendent among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-9021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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