Average Hourly Wage of Drywall Installers, By State

This is the 9th installment of Construction Junkie's weekly analysis of the hourly wages of each individual construction profession by state.  The three previous professions we examined were roofers, painters, and plumbers.  You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.

Drywall, gypsum, sheet rock, wall board, or whatever you call it, has to be installed by someone, so who better than a drywall installer? Some drywallers install the board and also tape and mud the joints, but others only hang the board.  

When sanding, drywallers are exposed to a lot of dust, including silica in some cases, which they need to be protected from.  The Center for Disease Control suggests using a vaccuum sander or pole sanding to reduce worker's exposure to harmful dust particles. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lumps drywall installers and ceiling tile installers in with each other, so keep that in mind when examining the data below. Data for the state of Rhode Island was unavailable for this work category, unfortunately.

All data below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s most recent reports from May 2016. 

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Drywall Installer, by State

click for larger image

click for larger image

Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Drywall Installer, by State

51. Rhode Island  --  N/A/hour

50. Hawaii  --  $14.81/hour

49. New York  --  $15.36/hour

48. Alaska  --  $16.01/hour

47. California  --  $16.42/hour

46. New Jersey  --  $16.51/hour

45. Connecticut  --  $16.62/hour

44. Washington  --  $16.65/hour

43. Illinois--$16.92/hour

42. District of Columbia  --  $16.98/hour

41. Wisconsin  --  $17.38/hour

40. Minnesota  --  $17.42/hour

39. Massachusetts  --  $17.53/hour

38. Pennsylvania  --  $18.04/hour

37. Maine  --  $18.44/hour

36. Oregon  --  $18.55/hour

35. Delaware  --  $18.82/hour

34. Vermont  --  $18.84/hour

33. New Hampshire  --  $18.95/hour

32. Wyoming  --  $19.00/hour

31. Michigan  --  $19.03/hour

30. Louisiana  --  $19.13/hour

29. Indiana  --  $19.38/hour

28. Colorado  --  $19.65/hour

27. Missouri  --  $19.99/hour

26. Maryland  --  $20.13/hour

25. Virginia  --  $20.16/hour

24. North Dakota  --  $20.42/hour

23. Kansas  --  $20.94/hour

22. Ohio  --  $21.08/hour

21. Georgia  --  $21.40/hour

20. West Virginia  --  $22.01/hour

19. Nevada  --  $22.10/hour

18. Oklahoma  --  $22.13/hour

17. New Mexico  --  $22.28/hour

16. Arizona  --  $22.52/hour

15. Kentucky  --  $22.58/hour

14. Nebraska  --  $22.80/hour

13. Tennessee  --  $22.86/hour

12. Idaho  --  $23.75/hour

11. Utah  --  $24.29/hour

10. South Dakota  --  $24.79/hour

9. Alabama  --  $25.29/hour

8. Mississippi  --  $27.44/hour

7. Iowa  --  $27.99/hour

6. Montana  --  $28.11/hour

5. North Carolina  --  $28.94/hour

4. Texas  --  $29.08/hour

3. Arkansas  --  $32.67/hour

2. Florida  --  $32.80/hour

1. South Carolina  --  $36.29/hour

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Drywall Installer - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state's adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state.  All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017.  The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state. 

click for larger image

click for larger image

Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Drywall Installer - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

51. Rhode Island  --  N/A/hour

50. District of Columbia  --  $11.79/hour

49. Hawaii  --  $12.19/hour

48. Maryland  --  $14.72/hour

47. South Carolina  --  $15.02/hour

46. Oregon  --  $15.42/hour

45. Florida  --  $15.59/hour

44. California  --  $15.82/hour

43. Montana--$16.50/hour

42. Massachusetts  --  $16.51/hour

41. North Carolina  --  $17.40/hour

40. South Dakota  --  $17.45/hour

39. Texas  --  $17.96/hour

38. Nevada  --  $17.97/hour

37. Iowa  --  $18.00/hour

36. Arkansas  --  $18.03/hour

35. Utah  --  $18.24/hour

34. Alabama  --  $18.56/hour

33. Idaho  --  $19.06/hour

32. Mississippi  --  $19.37/hour

31. New Hampshire  --  $19.47/hour

30. Arizona  --  $19.48/hour

29. Virginia  --  $19.69/hour

28. Kentucky  --  $19.79/hour

27. West Virginia  --  $19.81/hour

26. New Mexico  --  $19.95/hour

25. Nebraska  --  $19.95/hour

24. Tennessee  --  $19.95/hour

23. Maine  --  $20.13/hour

22. North Dakota  --  $20.21/hour

21. Colorado  --  $20.33/hour

20. Ohio  --  $20.87/hour

19. Oklahoma  --  $20.88/hour

18. Georgia  --  $20.93/hour

17. Vermont  --  $21.63/hour

16. Kansas  --  $21.67/hour

15. Delaware  --  $22.02/hour

14. New Jersey  --  $22.43/hour

13. New York  --  $22.44/hour

12. Missouri  --  $22.48/hour

11. Pennsylvania  --  $22.49/hour

10. Louisiana  --  $22.56/hour

9. Alaska  --  $22.74/hour

8. Wyoming  --  $22.87/hour

7. Indiana  --  $23.02/hour

6. Connecticut  --  $23.47/hour

5. Michigan  --  $24.14/hour

4. Minnesota  --  $24.34/hour

3. Wisconsin  --  $25.43/hour

2. Washington  --  $25.75/hour

1. Illinois  --  $28.21/hour

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