---
title: "Helpers--Painter, Paperhanger, Plasterer, and Stucco Mason"
description: "Help painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or stucco masons by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Helpers--Painter, Paperhanger, Plasterer, and Stucco Mason

**Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-3014 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-3014.00

Help painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or stucco masons by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

Also advertised as: Helper; Painter Assistant; Painter Helper; Plaster Helper; Plaster Tender.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $40,470 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $19.46/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $31,200 to $52,000, with the middle half between $36,830 and $49,090
- **Total US employment:** 7,490
- **Typical entry education:** No formal credential
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +1.5% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 700 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 65/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 7,490 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $31,200 |
| 25th | $36,830 |
| 50th (median) | $40,470 |
| 75th | $49,090 |
| 90th | $52,000 |
| Mean (average) | $42,440 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OH | $53,340 | $57,495 | 40 |
| NY | $52,000 | $48,183 | Not published by BLS |
| HI | $51,540 | $46,875 | 130 |
| CA | $46,220 | $41,745 | 1,990 |
| MT | $44,720 | $47,250 | 50 |
| UT | $44,500 | $45,011 | Not published by BLS |
| VA | $43,160 | $42,689 | Not published by BLS |
| CT | $43,070 | $41,569 | Not published by BLS |
| CO | $42,470 | $41,212 | Not published by BLS |
| OR | $40,180 | $38,873 | 240 |
| WA | $39,360 | $36,781 | 160 |
| MD | $39,080 | $37,234 | 90 |
| ID | $38,760 | $40,589 | 230 |
| NV | $38,330 | $38,338 | 80 |
| LA | $37,340 | $42,332 | 250 |

10 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 25 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 7,600 in the 2025–2035 base year to 7,700 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 100 jobs, or +1.5%. Slower than average: 1.5% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 700 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Short-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 68.2% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 26.2% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 3.7% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 1.4% |
| Some College Courses | 0.5% |

## What the work involves

- Clean work areas and equipment.
- Supply or hold tools and materials.
- Erect scaffolding.
- Perform support duties to assist painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or masons.
- Apply protective coverings, such as masking tape, to articles or areas that could be damaged or stained by work processes.
- Fill cracks or breaks in surfaces of plaster articles or areas with putty or epoxy compounds.
- Smooth surfaces of articles to be painted, using sanding and buffing tools and equipment.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Building and Construction — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 2.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 2.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Static Strength — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Trunk Strength — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Extent Flexibility — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Gross Body Equilibrium — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.52 |
| C — Conventional | 3.47 |
| S — Social | 2.43 |
| A — Artistic | 1.78 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.36 |
| I — Investigative | 1.11 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 78.6 |
| ISFJ | 74.8 |
| ESTJ | 68.7 |
| ISTP | 67.1 |
| ISFP | 59.7 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ, ISFJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Helpers--Brickmason, Blockmason, Stonemason, and Tile and Marble Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-brickmason-blockmason-stonemason-and-tile-and-marble-setter) — median $47,550
- [Helpers--Carpenter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-carpenter) — median $43,780
- [Helpers--Pipelayer, Plumber, Pipefitter, and Steamfitter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-pipelayer-plumber-pipefitter-and-steamfitter) — median $42,360
- [Plasterer and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plasterer-and-stucco-mason) — median $57,660
- [Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-installation-maintenance-and-repair-worker) — median $39,630
- [Painter, Construction and Maintenance](https://nuecareer.com/careers/painter-construction-and-maintenance) — median $49,400
- [Helpers--Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-roofer) — median $44,160
- [Helpers--Electrician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-electrician) — median $42,670
- [Helpers--Production Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-production-worker) — median $39,070
- [Helpers--Extraction Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-extraction-worker) — median $47,730

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

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