SalaryRow

Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons salary

SOC 47-3014 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median
$40,470
per year, nationally
Middle half
$36,830–$49,090
25th to 75th percentile
Employed
7,490
in the U.S.
Growth 2024–34
+2.3%
800 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$31,200$52,000
10th
$31,200
25th
$36,830
Median
$40,470
75th
$49,090
90th
$52,000

Getting in

Typical education to enter
No formal educational credential
Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#StateMedianCost of livingEmployedConcentrationvs. national
1Ohio$53,34092.8400.14×
2New York$52,000107.9
3Hawaii$51,540110.01304.18×
4California$46,220110.71,9902.26×
5Montana$44,72094.6502.17×
6Utah$44,50098.9
7Virginia$43,160101.1
8Connecticut$43,070103.6
9Colorado$42,470103.1
10Oregon$40,180103.42402.58×
11Washington$39,360107.01600.91×
12Maryland$39,080105.0900.70×
13Idaho$38,76095.52305.59×
14Nevada$38,330100.0801.02×
15Louisiana$37,34088.22502.65×
16Texas$37,04097.11,2201.81×
17Indiana$36,55093.3
18Tennessee$36,13091.9400.22×
19Florida$36,010103.43100.64×
20North Carolina$35,98094.32601.09×
21New Mexico$35,86092.2501.18×
22Georgia$35,43096.3
23Arizona$32,000100.71100.68×
24Michigan$30,30096.2
25Mississippi$23,47087.0600.99×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons

The 23 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#Metro areaMedianCost of livingEmployedConcentrationvs. national
1New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$52,000112.6
2San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$50,440115.63002.62×
3Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$47,260113.65501.80×
4Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA$46,780106.43504.29×
5Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT$45,15098.2
6Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$45,050105.8
7Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA$44,440110.5603.84×
8Baton Rouge, LA$44,33090.8803.91×
9Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$43,890108.9
10Eugene-Springfield, OR$43,280101.6304.05×
11San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$42,210111.92603.50×
12Urban Honolulu, HI$40,610111.0703.17×
13Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$40,420103.12301.20×
14Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA$40,370105.41201.99×
15Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ$39,200103.3900.81×
16Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$39,080104.5500.75×
17Boise City, ID$38,79098.4
18Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC$38,38097.9802.07×
19Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV$38,330100.2601.09×
20Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX$37,92098.11201.98×
21Ogden, UT$37,470100.3504.00×
22New Orleans-Metairie, LA$37,24092.6401.88×
23Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX$36,96098.64702.97×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

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