Construction and Extraction Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 47-2161

Plasterers and Stucco Masons

The published band from $39,560 to $96,710 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Plasterers and Stucco Masons: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers ($110K) , Structural Iron and Steel Workers ($63K) , Construction and Building Inspectors ($75K) , Boilermakers ($76K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Plasterers and Stucco Masons publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 47-2161 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Cover surfaces such as windows, doors, or sidewalks to protect from splashing
  2. 2. Clean job sites
  3. 3. Mix mortar and plaster to desired consistency or direct workers who perform mixing
  4. 4. Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns
  5. 5. Set up scaffolds
  6. 6. Determine materials needed to complete the job and place orders accordingly
  7. 7. Cure freshly plastered surfaces
  8. 8. Install guide wires on exterior surfaces of buildings to indicate thickness of plaster or stucco and nail wire mesh, lath, or similar mat…
  9. 9. Apply weatherproof, decorative coverings to exterior surfaces of buildings, such as by troweling or spraying on coats of stucco
  10. 10. Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping
  11. 11. Create decorative textures in finish coat, using brushes or trowels, sand, pebbles, or stones
  12. 12. Apply insulation to building exteriors by installing prefabricated insulation systems over existing walls or by covering the outer wall w…

Plasterers and Stucco Masons: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 47-2161 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.0 ; lead knowledge Building and Construction. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.0
  2. 2. Quality Control Analysis 3.0
  3. 3. Time Management 3.0
  4. 4. Speaking 2.9
  5. 5. Monitoring 2.9
  6. 6. Coordination 2.9
  7. 7. Service Orientation 2.9
  8. 8. Operations Monitoring 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Building and Construction 4.1
  2. 2. Administration and Management 3.2
  3. 3. Design 3.2
  4. 4. English Language 3.1
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 3.0
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.0
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$39,560 to $96,710
median $57,660 · ~2.4× spread
$58K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
1,900
Annual openings
19,310
Estimated US jobs
Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers
Highest-pay peer · $110K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Plasterers and Stucco Masons

1. New York $120,180
2. Hawaii $104,260
3. New Hampshire $93,000
4. Illinois $93,790
5. Pennsylvania $70,030
6. Minnesota $102,530
7. New Jersey $69,990
8. Missouri $79,380
9. Michigan $72,990
10. Oregon $71,180

Other Construction and Extraction Occupations titles

  1. 1. Structural Iron and Steel Workers $62,780
  2. 2. Construction and Building Inspectors $74,690
  3. 3. Boilermakers $76,410
  4. 4. First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers $79,920
  5. 5. Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas $67,890
  6. 6. Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers $109,910

The OEWS band for Plasterers and Stucco Masons runs from $39,560 (10th) to $96,710 (90th), about 2.4× wide, with median $57,660. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,900 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New York at $120,180. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers at $109,910. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Plasterers and Stucco Masons pay-rank #28 in Construction and Extraction Occupations

Plasterers and Stucco Masons sits at pay-rank #28 of 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Plasterers and Stucco Masons is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Plasterers and Stucco Masons salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 47-2161

New York · top state for Plasterers and Stucco Masons

$120K published median

Hawaii · #2 state pay

$104K · behind New York

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

Highest-pay peer vs Plasterers and Stucco Masons · $110K

Structural Iron and Steel Workers

Lower-pay peer beside Plasterers and Stucco Masons · $63K

Compare Plasterers and Stucco Masons

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Plasterers and Stucco Masons with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Plasterers and Stucco Masons mid-table among Construction and Extraction Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #28 of 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining ($57K), Stonemasons ($57K), Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas ($58K), Glaziers ($57K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do plasterers and stucco masons do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Plasterers and Stucco Masons. Leading ones include: Cover surfaces such as windows, doors, or sidewalks to protect from splashing; Clean job sites; Mix mortar and plaster to desired consistency or direct workers who perform mixing; Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for plasterers and stucco masons? ▼
For SOC 47-2161, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.0), Quality Control Analysis (3.0), Time Management (3.0), Speaking (2.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Building and Construction, Administration and Management, Design. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Plasterers and Stucco Masons? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $39,560 and the 90th at $96,710 for Plasterers and Stucco Masons (2.4× spread). The national median is $57,660. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Plasterers and Stucco Masons? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Plasterers and Stucco Masons is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 1,900. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Plasterers and Stucco Masons? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Plasterers and Stucco Masons. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Plasterers and Stucco Masons? ▼
New York ($120,180), Hawaii ($104,260), New Hampshire ($93,000) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Plasterers and Stucco Masons card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 47-2161. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Plasterers and Stucco Masons. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics