Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The national median salary for Tapers is $68,266 per year ($32.82/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $52,728 and $88,546 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $107,120 per year. There are approximately 12,840 tapers employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surface for painting or papering.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+0.1%
Little or no change
Annual openings
1K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
16K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% 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 4 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Building Finishing Contractors
NAICS 238300
11K
$70,380
Nonresidential Building Construction
NAICS 236200
1K
$68,140
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors
NAICS 238100
190
$76,290
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction
NAICS 237300
50
$100,820
Wage range across top 5 industries: $68,140 to $100,820 (48% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$21.00
$43,680
P25
$25.35
$52,728
P50MEDIAN
$32.82
$68,266
P75
$42.57
$88,546
P90
$51.50
$107,120
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 tapers salary?
The national median salary for Tapers is $68,266 per year ($32.82/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $52,728 and $88,546 annually.
How much do top-earning tapers make?
The 90th percentile salary for Tapers is $107,120 per year ($51.50/hr). The 75th percentile is $88,546 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for tapers?
Entry-level Tapers (10th percentile) earn approximately $43,680 per year ($21.00/hr). The 25th percentile is $52,728 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.