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Manufactured Housing & Modular Building
Clayton Homes, Cavco Industries, Skyline Champion
Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers
These installers set up, repair, and sometimes rebuild manufactured homes, modular buildings, and travel trailers. The work blends construction, troubleshooting, and careful inspection: one day you may be leveling and resetting hardware, and the next you’re tracking down leaks, broken wiring, or damaged panels. The tradeoff is clear—there’s plenty of hands-on variety, but the field is small and the pay stays in the moderate range.
Also known as Manufactured Home InstallerMobile Home InstallerModular Home InstallerManufactured Housing InstallerMobile Home Setup Technician
Median Salary
$41,080
Mean $42,620
U.S. Workforce
~3K
0.3K openings per year
10-Year Growth
+5.9%
3.1K to 3.3K
Entry Education
High school diploma or equivalent
+ None experience
What This Role Looks Like in Practice
Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers sits in the Trades category. In practical terms, this role combines day-to-day execution, cross-team coordination, and consistent decision-making under real business constraints.
U.S. employment is currently about ~3K workers, with a median annual pay of $41,080 and roughly 0.3K openings each year. Based on BLS projections, total employment is expected to grow from 3.1 K in 2024 to 3.3K in 2034.
Most hiring paths start with Less than high school diploma, and employers typically expect none of related experience. Many careers in this track begin around Helper / Installer Trainee and can progress toward Crew Lead / Site Supervisor. High-value skills usually include Critical Thinking, Operation and Control, and Quality Control Analysis, paired with soft skills such as Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, and Monitoring.
Core Responsibilities
- Talk with customers or review work orders to understand what is damaged and what needs to be fixed.
- Inspect homes and systems to find problems in structure, appliances, plumbing, gas lines, or wiring.
- Replace broken exterior panels, frame pieces, fixtures, and other damaged parts using hand and power tools.
- Find and repair leaks in plumbing or gas lines, then seal problem spots so they do not keep leaking.
Keep exploring: more Trades careers or browse all job titles.
A Day in the Life
01 Talk with customers or review work orders to understand what is damaged and what needs to be fixed.
02 Inspect homes and systems to find problems in structure, appliances, plumbing, gas lines, or wiring.
03 Replace broken exterior panels, frame pieces, fixtures, and other damaged parts using hand and power tools.
04 Find and repair leaks in plumbing or gas lines, then seal problem spots so they do not keep leaking.
05 Track down electrical faults such as frayed wires or loose connections and make safe repairs.
06 Figure out which parts are needed, estimate the cost, and plan the repair steps before starting the job.
Industries That Hire
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Residential Construction
D.R. Horton, Lennar, PulteGroup
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RV & Travel Trailer Manufacturing
Thor Industries, Winnebago Industries, Forest River
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Property Restoration & Insurance Repair
BELFOR, ServiceMaster Restore, Paul Davis Restoration
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Home Improvement Retail & Installation Services
Lowe's, The Home Depot, Menards
Pros and Cons
Advantages
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You can enter the field with a high school diploma or less, and BLS says short-term on-the-job training is typical, so the barrier to entry is relatively low.
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The work is varied: one call may involve a leak, another an electrical fault, and another a damaged wall panel, so the day rarely looks exactly the same.
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Pay is moderate for a hands-on trade, with a median annual wage of $41,080 and a mean of $42,620.
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The occupation is small, but there are still about 300 annual openings, which can create chances for people who are reliable and easy to train.
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You get visible results quickly: repairs are concrete, and customers can usually see exactly what got fixed by the end of the day.
Challenges
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The field is small—about 2,610 workers—so there are fewer openings, fewer specialty roles, and a tighter path to promotion than in larger trades.
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Growth is modest at 5.9% through 2034, so this is not a fast-expanding occupation with lots of new positions being created.
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The pay ceiling is limited compared with licensed trades and some construction specialties, so earnings may stay in the low-to-mid $40K range unless you move into lead work.
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The job is physically demanding and often means crawling, lifting, working in tight spaces, and handling materials in awkward outdoor or site conditions.
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The work carries real safety risk because installers deal with wiring, plumbing, gas lines, and structural repairs, where mistakes can be dangerous and expensive.
Career Progression
Helper / Installer Trainee
0-1 years
$30K-$36K
Learns site safety, tool use, basic setup, and how to assist with repairs under close supervision.
Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installer
1-4 years
$36K-$46K
Handles routine installations and repairs, diagnoses common problems, and works directly from work orders and diagrams.
Senior Installer / Repair Specialist THIS ROLE
4-8 years
$46K-$58K
Takes on harder structural, plumbing, electrical, and leak repairs and may mentor newer workers.
Crew Lead / Site Supervisor
8+ years
$58K-$72K
Oversees job sites, assigns work, checks quality, and handles the most complicated repairs or customer issues.
Education Paths
Less than high school diploma
The most common entry path, held by 59.23% of workers, often for people who learn the trade directly from supervisors and coworkers.
High school diploma or equivalent
A large share of workers, 39.53%, enter with a diploma or GED and then build skills through short-term training on the job.
Postsecondary certificate in construction or repair
A small alternative path, held by 1.24% of workers, can help with basic wiring, plumbing, and construction skills before starting work.
Short-term on-the-job training
BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as the typical way to learn this job, which fits the hands-on nature of the work.
Key Skills
Technical
Critical Thinking 75%
Operation and Control 75%
Quality Control Analysis 75%
Hand Tools, Power Tools & Fasteners 74%
Operations Monitoring 72%
Blueprints, Work Orders & Parts Lists 71%
Electrical Testers, Ohmmeters & Soldering Irons 70%
Sealants, Caulks & Pipe Repair Materials 69%
Soft Skills
CoordinationJudgment and Decision MakingMonitoringActive LearningAttention to DetailCommunication Job Outlook and Trends
+5.9%
Projected growth (2024-2034)
0.3K
Annual job openings
Employment is projected to rise from 3.1K to 3.3 K over the next decade, representing 5.9% growth. Around 0.3 K openings per year include both newly created roles and replacement hiring from turnover.
Remote availability is currently Rare. Demand remains strongest where employers need practical domain knowledge plus modern workflow and data skills.