Hiring a cost estimator in Hialeah, FL

Employers in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL area pay cost estimators a median of $76,040, with the middle half of the market between $57,030 and $98,520. Hialeah residents working in business and financial operations occupations report a median of $46,865, which is 38% below what the metro pays for this role.

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What does a cost estimator earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$57,030
Median	$76,040
75th percentile	$98,520

Half of cost estimators in this area earn between $57,030 and $98,520. A band set below $57,030 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Hialeah residents earn

$46,865

Median earnings of Hialeah residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 3,124 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 38% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Hialeah rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.
Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.
Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 13-1051.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, On Center On-Screen Takeoff, Adobe Acrobat, Autodesk AutoCAD.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Hialeah?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 21.2% of Hialeah adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a thin local pool for a degree-requiring role, so expect to recruit across the metro rather than inside the city. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Hialeah commute runs 28.8 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 12.6% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Miami-Dade County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 11,013 and turns over 7.8% a quarter, with 1,805 hires against 1,236 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,158 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about cost estimators. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $15,208 to $22,812 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.