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The national median salary for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers is $58,926 per year ($28.33/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $47,445 and $74,235 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $102,003 per year. There are approximately 83,080 drywall and ceiling tile installers employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fireproofing, or acoustical material.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+4.2%
Faster than average
Annual openings
8K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
103K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
6% from new growth94% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Building Finishing Contractors
NAICS 238300
66K
$58,810
Nonresidential Building Construction
NAICS 236200
7K
$67,180
Residential Building Construction
NAICS 236100
4K
$57,210
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors
NAICS 238100
2K
$55,280
Employment Services
NAICS 561300
1K
$38,560
Wage range across top 5 industries: $38,560 to $67,180 (74% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$18.49
$38,459
P25
$22.81
$47,445
P50MEDIAN
$28.33
$58,926
P75
$35.69
$74,235
P90
$49.04
$102,003
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · manufacturing sector
Stable
Openings Rate
3.5%
Quits Rate
1.4%
Manufacturing openings ticked up to 462K (+19K) in March, with the rate at 3.5%. Hires rose to 310K. The sector has stabilized after late-2025 softening.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average drywall and ceiling tile installers salary?
The national median salary for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers is $58,926 per year ($28.33/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $47,445 and $74,235 annually.
How much do top-earning drywall and ceiling tile installers make?
The 90th percentile salary for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers is $102,003 per year ($49.04/hr). The 75th percentile is $74,235 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for drywall and ceiling tile installers?
Entry-level Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers (10th percentile) earn approximately $38,459 per year ($18.49/hr). The 25th percentile is $47,445 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.