Commercial construction recruiters serving Ogden-Clearfield.
Standard Ogden-Clearfield superintendents run a solid premium above national. Superintendents with federal or defense delivery experience are the exception - Hill Air Force Base's East Campus project needs that profile specifically.
A solid baseline premium, plus the largest capital project in the area's history.
Standard commercial construction superintendents and estimators in Ogden-Clearfield run a solid premium above the national average - 7% and 8% respectively.
Superintendents with federal or defense delivery experience are the exception. The metro's own data names this directly: Hill Air Force Base's 10-year, $1.2B East Campus Infrastructure project is the largest capital project in the Ogden area's history.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial GCs in Ogden-Clearfield, and we verify real security-clearance and federal-contracting delivery experience rather than a line on a resume.
The story behind the scarcity.
A single federal mega-project, the largest the Ogden area has ever seen.
-
A 10-year, 1 million sq ft modernization including a new maintenance hangar, composite repair facility, egress facility, canopy repair facility, and a T-7A depot maintenance complex - the largest capital project in the Ogden area's history, and the direct driver of the defense-cleared electrician wage premium this page borrows from.
What you'll actually pay - by role.
Hourly wage ranges based on BLS OEWS data for the Ogden-Clearfield MSA. The superintendent and estimator rows both match the metro overview's own published figures directly. Read the "notes" column for context on the derived federal/defense premium. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Commercial Construction Salary Guide.
| Role | Metro wage range | Typical experience | Market notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant project manager | $35 – $45/hr | 2-5 yrs | Scaled proportionally below the derived project manager row, consistent with the ratio used on our Dallas-Fort Worth commercial-construction page |
| Project manager (commercial GC) | $49 – $63/hr | 5-10 yrs | Scaled proportionally below the published superintendent row, consistent with the ratio used on our Dallas-Fort Worth commercial-construction page |
| Safety manager | $40 – $51/hr | 5+ yrs | Scaled to Ogden-Clearfield's general commercial-construction wage baseline; federal-facility and aircraft-hangar work carries elevated life-safety and security scope |
| Commercial construction manager / superintendent | $57 – $73/hr | 10+ yrs | Matches the commercial construction superintendent figure already published on the Ogden-Clearfield metro overview directly (+7% over national) |
| Superintendent (federal / defense delivery portfolio) | $70 – $90/hr | 10+ yrs | A +23% derived premium over the published standard-superintendent row, borrowed from the hub's own federal-facility/defense-cleared electrician wage row - the hub's own text calls this the tightest specialty in the metro, tied to Hill Air Force Base's $1.2B East Campus Infrastructure project |
| Commercial estimator (5+ yrs) | $46 – $60/hr | 5+ yrs | Matches the commercial estimator figure already published on the Ogden-Clearfield metro overview directly (+8% over national) |
Source: BLS OEWS (Ogden-Clearfield MSA), construction management occupational codes, projected to 2026. Actual offer rates depend on portfolio type (standard commercial vs. federal/defense), years of experience, and project complexity.
What candidates expect. What credentials matter. What kills offers.
We don't tell prospective clients who their competitors are hiring - that's a discipline our clients value, and we'll honor it on a call. What we will share publicly: how the Ogden-Clearfield commercial construction hiring game actually plays out in 2026. The five things below are what we tell every Ogden-Clearfield construction client at intake.
Why federal/defense delivery experience is the scarcest credential
Ogden-Clearfield's own market data names superintendents with federal/defense delivery experience as the clear premium hire against the largest capital project in the Ogden area's history.
Where Ogden-Clearfield commercial construction talent comes from
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial GCs in Ogden-Clearfield. Standard superintendents and PMs draw on a genuinely available pipeline priced at a solid regional premium. Federal/defense-portfolio superintendents are the harder fill, tied to Hill AFB's security-clearance requirements specifically.
Credentials worth filtering for
Utah licenses contractors through the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL), with E200/E201 electrical and P200/P201 plumbing classifications requiring a master qualifier. What actually separates candidates in Ogden-Clearfield: verified security-clearance and federal-contracting delivery experience.
What candidates expect from an Ogden-Clearfield construction-management offer in 2026
Standard superintendent comp runs about 7% above national and estimator comp about 8% above. Federal/defense-portfolio candidates expect considerably more given how narrow the security-cleared pool is.
Realistic timelines, by role
Project managers and assistant PMs: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer for conventional roles. Federal/defense-portfolio superintendents run considerably longer, typically 9-12 weeks, because Hill AFB's $1.2B project needs security-clearance and federal-contracting experience that's scarce even in a market already running above national on conventional trades. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The construction-management positions we fill, most often.
Across all Ogden-Clearfield commercial construction clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months. Federal/defense-portfolio superintendents are the role in genuine short supply - everything else draws on Ogden-Clearfield's own available regional pipeline.
- Assistant project manager
- Project manager (commercial GC)
- Safety manager
- Superintendent
- Superintendent (federal / defense delivery portfolio)
- Senior estimator
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Ogden-Clearfield, see the Ogden-Clearfield metro overview. To learn more about commercial construction generally (across all 100+ markets we serve), see our Commercial Construction industry page.
How we recruit commercial construction in Ogden, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Ogden-Clearfield's commercial construction segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Ogden-Clearfield construction management, we also confirm whether the role needs federal or defense delivery experience specifically, since that changes both the sourcing pool and the offer math substantially.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Ogden-Clearfield construction-management candidate network for standard roles. For federal/defense-portfolio roles, we draw on candidates with verified security-clearance and federal-contracting delivery experience specifically.
- Vetted short list (week one for standard roles). Three to five candidates. We verify real project-delivery history - dollar value, portfolio type, OSHA 30 - rather than a line on a resume.
- Offer and close. Project managers and assistant PMs close in 4-6 weeks. Federal/defense-portfolio superintendents run considerably longer, typically 9-12 weeks. We help with offer math against Ogden-Clearfield's own wage table.
Ogden runs 35% more commercial construction workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Construction Managers (nearest published occupation for this trade). Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Ogden's commercial construction market compares
In 2023 the Ogden metro had 148 commercial and institutional building contractors (counted by business location). BLS publishes that count but withholds headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers. That works out to 21 per 100,000 residents against 17 nationally, a crowded field where experienced people get approached often.
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Ogden ranks 60th for headcount, 74th for median pay and 18th for concentration for construction managers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provo | 1,190 | $99,490 | 1.60 | 110 |
| Ogden | 900 | $103,410 | 1.35 | 148 |
| Salt Lake City | – | $109,710 | – | 312 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial construction employers in Ogden, the local pool is deeper than most, so a well-run search can usually fill field roles from inside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Ogden metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Ogden's commercial construction market has changed since 2018.
The number of commercial and institutional building contractors in Ogden rose from 123 in 2018 to 148 in 2023, up 20%, ahead of the 13% national rise. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Ogden, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial and institutional building contractors: business locations | 123 | 148 | +20% |
| Commercial and institutional building contractors: employment | 2,345 | – | – |
| Commercial and institutional building contractors: average annual pay | $62,332 | – | – |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Frequently asked — commercial construction hiring in Ogden.
Why is federal and defense delivery experience the scarcest hire in Ogden-Clearfield?
Hill Air Force Base broke ground on a 10-year, $1.2B, 1 million sq ft F-35/T-7A East Campus Infrastructure project - the largest capital project in the Ogden area's history. That project is why federal-facility/defense-cleared electricians run about 23% above national - the metro's own data calls this the tightest specialty in the market.
Does Utah require a general contractor license for commercial construction work in Ogden-Clearfield?
Yes - Utah licenses contractors through the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL). Electrical contractors need E200/E201 classifications with a master electrician qualifier, and plumbing contractors need P200/P201 with a master plumber qualifier. Any project of $3,000 or more requires a licensed contractor.
Are Ogden-Clearfield commercial construction wages higher than the national average?
Yes, broadly - superintendents run about 7% above national and estimators about 8% above. The largest premium is portfolio-specific: federal/defense-portfolio superintendents command considerably more than the standard rate.
What do construction laborers earn in Ogden?
BLS puts the Ogden median for construction laborers at $46,400 a year, about the same as the $47,120 national median. That ranks 62nd of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $36,600 and $65,480, a 1.8x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. No other Utah metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire construction laborers in Ogden?
Not by national standards. Construction laborers make up 64% more of the Ogden workforce than they do nationally, about 3,140 people. With 20% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial construction roles pay the most in Ogden?
Of the roles we recruit for, Project Manager pays the most in Ogden, a $103,410 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Heavy Equipment Operator at $60,250, 42% below it. Construction Laborer is the lowest-paid field role at $46,400. Carpenter trails national pay the most (20% below).
How many commercial and institutional building contractors operate in Ogden?
BLS counted 148 commercial and institutional building contractors in Ogden in 2023. Up from 123 in 2018, a 20% increase against 13% growth nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers.
Which nearby metros compete with Ogden for construction laborers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Salt Lake City (32 miles, about 7,790, $47,460 median), Provo (70 miles, about 4,760, $46,640 median) and Boise (272 miles, about 4,700, $47,510 median). Salt Lake City has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move.
Hiring commercial construction talent in Ogden-Clearfield?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you wages, timeline, and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.