Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$58,930

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$47,440 – $74,230

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

83,080

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+2.5%

Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)

Openings a year (projected)

6,600

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

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.

Main tasks

• Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.
• Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.
• Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
• Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.
• Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.
• Measure and cut openings in panels or tiles for electrical outlets, windows, vents, plumbing, or other fixtures, using keyhole saws or other cutting tools.
• Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.
• Cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks.

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.

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.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall

  $49,120 median · +2.4% projected

• Sheet Metal Workers

  $61,800 median · +2.5% projected

• Carpenters

  $60,580 median · +3.9% projected

• Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles

  $56,460 median · +9% projected

• Roofers

  $55,440 median · +5.3% projected

• Insulation Workers, Mechanical

  $58,340 median · +5.1% projected