Furniture Finishers

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$44,540

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$37,670 – $49,730

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

14,480

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-3.5%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

1,500

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

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

Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.

Main tasks

• Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers.
• Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.
• Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders.
• Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances.
• Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths.
• Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors.
• Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type.
• Mix finish ingredients to obtain desired colors or shades.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: short-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.

• Upholsterers

  $46,340 median · -2.3% projected

• Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

  $46,680 median · -2.9% projected

• Floor Sanders and Finishers

  $50,440 median · +1.4% projected

• Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

  $48,250 median · +2.5% projected

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

  $56,460 median · +9% projected

• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

  $43,380 median · -2.5% projected