Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
US occupation · SOC 47-2051
Job titles people report: Cement Finisher, Cement Mason, Concrete Finisher, Concrete Mason, Finisher, Mason
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $57,020
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $47,010 – $66,870
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 206,170
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +1.6%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 13,600
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- No formal educational credential
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.
Main tasks
- Check the forms that hold the concrete to see that they are properly constructed.
- Set the forms that hold concrete to the desired pitch and depth, and align them.
- Spread, level, and smooth concrete, using rake, shovel, hand or power trowel, hand or power screed, and float.
- Monitor how the wind, heat, or cold affect the curing of the concrete throughout the entire process.
- Mold expansion joints and edges, using edging tools, jointers, and straightedge.
- Signal truck driver to position truck to facilitate pouring concrete, and move chute to direct concrete on forms.
- Direct the casting of the concrete and supervise laborers who use shovels or special tools to spread it.
- Produce rough concrete surface, using broom.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- No formal educational credential
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Construction Trades
- Concrete Finishing/Concrete Finisher
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers
$76,170 median · -13% projected
- Brickmasons and Blockmasons
$62,120 median · +1.1% projected
- Tile and Stone Setters
$55,690 median · +9.8% projected
- Stonemasons
$57,390 median · -5.4% projected
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
$53,340 median · -0.9% projected
- Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$56,460 median · +9% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk