Terrazzo Workers and Finishers

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$76,170

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$54,830 – $114,780

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

1,180

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-13%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

100

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

Apply a mixture of cement, sand, pigment, or marble chips to floors, stairways, and cabinet fixtures to fashion durable and decorative surfaces.

Main tasks

• Measure designated amounts of ingredients for terrazzo or grout, according to standard formulas and specifications, using graduated containers and scales, and load ingredients into portable mixer.
• Grind surfaces with a power grinder, or polish surfaces with polishing or surfacing machines.
• Cut metal division strips and press them into the terrazzo base for joints or changes of color to form designs or patterns or to help prevent cracks.
• Blend marble chip mixtures, place into panels, and push a roller over the surface to embed the chips.
• Modify mixing, grouting, grinding, or cleaning procedures, according to type of installation or material used.
• Spread, level, or smooth concrete or terrazzo mixtures to form bases or finished surfaces, using rakes, shovels, hand or power trowels, hand or power screeds, or floats.
• Grind curved surfaces or areas inaccessible to surfacing machine, such as stairways or cabinet tops, with portable hand grinder.
• Wash polished terrazzo surface, using cleaner and water, and apply sealer and curing agent according to manufacturer's specifications, using brush or sprayer.

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.

Related careers

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

• Tile and Stone Setters

  $55,690 median · +9.8% projected

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

  $56,460 median · +9% projected

• Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers

  $57,020 median · +1.6% projected

• Stonemasons

  $57,390 median · -5.4% projected

• Brickmasons and Blockmasons

  $62,120 median · +1.1% projected

• Floor Sanders and Finishers

  $50,440 median · +1.4% projected