Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
SOC 47-2081 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $67,665per year
- Projected openings
- 25,830
- Projected change
- +5%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Monitoring
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Judgment and Decision Making
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $86,011 | 1,970 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $85,357 | 730 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $84,832 | 2,100 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $80,602 | 70 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $80,179 | 80 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $79,799 | 120 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $79,276 | 600 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $78,605 | 130 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $75,516 | 130 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $71,986 | 3,100 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $67,477 | 150 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $67,343 | 2,430 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $66,469 | 3,770 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $66,053 | 3,930 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $65,881 | 450 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $65,717 | 590 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $65,521 | 180 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $65,233 | 60 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $64,903 | 440 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $64,306 | 150 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $64,090 | 90 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $63,905 | 90 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $63,071 | 410 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $62,597 | 3,590 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $62,515 | 870 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $61,897 | 70 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $61,897 | 390 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | Not reported | 190 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $47,298
- A quarter earn under
- $57,322
- Half earn under
- $67,665
- Three quarters earn under
- $87,488
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $123,497
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall | $50,163 | 2,690 | +3.1% |
| Tapers | $75,450 | 3,930 | 0% |
| Sheet Metal Workers | $78,665 | 7,970 | +5.5% |
| Carpenters | $77,977 | 110,410 | +6.4% |
| Plasterers and Stucco Masons | $61,564 | 6,320 | +5.1% |
| Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles | $62,868 | 4,590 | +8.5% |
Programs that train for this job — 1
InnerCity Community Unilateral Apprenticeship Cmte
InnerCity Community Unilateral Apprenticeship Cmte · San Diego · $0