The Price of Progress: Why Oklahoma’s Construction Model Is Failing Its Workers and Its Future

Note: You can find our full research and market analysis as the inspiration for this post in another of our blog posts, or via this link: https://www.stronghold.construction/post/oklahoma-construction-industry-trends-1993-2025-market-research-analysis

For thirty years, Oklahoma’s construction industry has been running harder just to stay in place. Wages doubled. Costs tripled. Productivity barely moved. And even when we “win” a low bid, we lose somewhere else — in quality, in margin, or in people.

This isn’t a new problem. It’s a compounding one. The data from 1993–2025 shows how we got here — and what has to change if we actually want to build better.

1. The Wage Myth: The Paychecks Look Bigger, But the Math Doesn’t

In 1995, the average Oklahoma tradesperson earned about $22,500 a year — roughly $10–11 an hour. Today, that number’s closer to $60,000. On paper, that’s progress. But when you stack it against inflation and the cost of living, the picture’s different.

A single tradesperson still earns below the 4-person family living wage benchmark in Oklahoma — roughly $93,000 a year. It now takes two trade incomes to make a middle-class household. The paychecks grew, but the ground under them shifted faster.

Wages have technically outpaced inflation by around 20%. But when rent, food, childcare, and insurance jump 45%, “outpacing inflation” is just a clever way of saying “still behind.”

The short version: We didn’t lose people to laziness or disinterest. We lost them to math that doesn’t work.

2. The Cost Spiral: Three Times the Price, Same Productivity

If you feel like everything’s more expensive to build than it used to be — you’re right.

The Producer Price Index for construction materials in Oklahoma has tripled since 1993. The cost of inputs — concrete, steel, lumber, copper, asphalt — all climbed steeply through the mid-2000s, spiked again after 2020, and have stayed high.

By mid-2025, construction material costs are up nearly 200% from the 1990s baseline. Even after accounting for inflation, the real cost of construction keeps climbing.

That means we’re paying three times as much to build the same buildings — without triple the quality or efficiency to show for it. The data backs up what everyone on the ground already knows: We’re working harder, spending more, and still fighting the same fires.

3. The Labor Crunch: A Workforce on the Edge

In the 1990s, there were too many workers and not enough work. Today, it’s the opposite — too much work, not enough workers.

By 2025, 92% of Oklahoma contractors report they can’t fill open positions. Skilled labor has become a scarce commodity.

The U.S. needs over 650,000 new tradespeople just to meet demand — not to grow, just to hold the line. Oklahoma’s share of that gap translates to delayed projects, missed bids, and an entire generation of contractors stretching their workforce to the breaking point.

This isn’t just about bodies on jobsites — it’s about the disappearing middle of the industry. Veterans are retiring faster than we can replace them. Training programs can’t keep pace. And young people see construction as a hard, unstable, low-prestige path — because too often, it still is.

Labor scarcity isn’t a side effect. It’s the bottleneck that defines every decision we make now.

4. The Project Reality: We Keep Missing the Target

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most projects fail to hit the marks we set.

• 70% of projects go over budget.

• 75% miss schedule.

• 30% end in disputes or claims.

That’s not “a few bad years.” That’s a pattern stretching across decades.

When the system consistently misses by that much, it’s not bad luck — it’s bad design. And that design starts with how we buy construction in the first place.

5. The Procurement Problem: Low Bid Builds Low Trust

Oklahoma’s public sector has long been trapped in a low-bid loop. Lowest price wins — even if it costs more in the end.

The result? Underbidding, change orders, adversarial relationships, and litigation.

Study after study confirms it:

• Low-bid jobs have the highest cost growth and change-order frequency.

• CMAR and Design-Build projects deliver 10–30% faster and with 4% less cost growth.

Yet, for decades, policy rewarded whoever could say “cheapest” the loudest. That’s how you end up with the illusion of savings and the reality of rework.

The encouraging shift: Oklahoma has started changing course. Since 2017, state law now allows Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) and Design-Build methods for more projects. It’s a slow pivot — but it’s the right one. Because collaboration beats combat every time.

6. The Path Forward: Stop Building on a Broken Formula

The data paints a clear picture — and it’s not just about numbers. It’s about people, priorities, and the price we pay for doing things the old way.

If Oklahoma wants a construction industry that can sustain itself — and attract the next generation — we have to fix the model at its foundation.

1️⃣ Productivity and Technology

Roughly 35% of jobsite time is lost to inefficiency. Technology like BIM, project management platforms, and modular methods can close that gap — if firms actually adopt them. We can’t keep building analog in a digital world.

2️⃣ Workforce Development

We need an aggressive pipeline strategy: trade schools, apprenticeships, paid training, and better early-career retention. It’s not just about recruiting — it’s about making the trades a sustainable career again.

3️⃣ Procurement Reform

Move faster toward CMAR and Progressive Design-Build for public work. Reward qualifications, not low bids. The data is clear — collaboration saves time, money, and headaches.

Closing Thought

We’ve been racing to the bottom for thirty years — and now we’re surprised there’s nothing left to stand on. The workers are stretched. The costs are unsustainable. The system is outdated. But the solutions are right in front of us.

If Oklahoma wants to lead — not just build — the next generation of infrastructure, we need to stop rewarding the cheapest path and start valuing the right one.

Because low bid doesn’t build legacy. It builds liability.