Insulation Workers, Mechanical
SOC 47-2132 · 2024-2034
Apply insulating materials to pipes or ductwork, or other mechanical systems in order to help control and maintain temperature.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $122,932per year
- Projected openings
- 1,220
- Projected change
- +7.1%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
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.
- Time Management
- Coordination
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $59,263
- A quarter earn under
- $65,292
- Half earn under
- $122,932
- Three quarters earn under
- $155,471
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $170,025
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% |
| Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers | $67,665 | 25,830 | +5% |
| Sheet Metal Workers | $78,665 | 7,970 | +5.5% |
| Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles | $62,868 | 4,590 | +8.5% |
| Roofers | $65,323 | 20,430 | +6.8% |
| Pipelayers | $78,244 | 1,070 | 0% |