Stonemasons

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$57,390

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$45,450 – $71,630

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

7,820

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-5.4%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

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

Build stone structures, such as piers, walls, and abutments. Lay walks, curbstones, or special types of masonry for vats, tanks, and floors.

Main tasks

• Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
• Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
• Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
• Remove wedges, fill joints between stones, finish joints between stones, using a trowel, and smooth the mortar to an attractive finish, using a tuck pointer.
• Clean excess mortar or grout from surface of marble, stone, or monument, using sponge, brush, water, or acid.
• Shape, trim, face and cut marble or stone preparatory to setting, using power saws, cutting equipment, and hand tools.
• Mix mortar or grout and pour or spread mortar or grout on marble slabs, stone, or foundation.
• Construct and install prefabricated masonry units.

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: apprenticeship

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.

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