---
title: "Insulation Worker, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall"
description: "Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/insulation-worker-floor-ceiling-and-wall"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Insulation Worker, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall

**Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-2131 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-2131.00

Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.

Also advertised as: Attic Blower; Insulation Estimator; Insulation Installer; Insulation Mechanic; Insulation Worker; Insulator; Retrofit Installer; Spray Foam Installer.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $49,120 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.62/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $37,030 to $78,190, with the middle half between $43,200 and $60,980
- **Total US employment:** 44,440
- **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:** +2.4% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,000 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 68/100 — 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 44,440 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $37,030 |
| 25th | $43,200 |
| 50th (median) | $49,120 |
| 75th | $60,980 |
| 90th | $78,190 |
| Mean (average) | $54,740 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NE | $73,140 | $81,174 | 310 |
| WA | $67,750 | $63,310 | 2,330 |
| MS | $62,880 | $72,315 | 290 |
| OR | $60,210 | $58,252 | 700 |
| NY | $59,100 | $54,762 | 1,600 |
| MD | $58,420 | $55,660 | 1,240 |
| OH | $58,400 | $62,949 | 870 |
| AK | $56,470 | $55,169 | 170 |
| MO | $56,040 | $61,707 | 830 |
| IA | $55,820 | $63,604 | 460 |
| IN | $54,630 | $58,535 | 780 |
| MN | $54,350 | $55,110 | 1,090 |
| DE | $53,570 | $53,673 | 280 |
| VT | $53,570 | $54,687 | 110 |
| IL | $53,000 | $53,022 | 780 |

34 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 49 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/insulation-worker-floor-ceiling-and-wall/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/insulation-worker-floor-ceiling-and-wall.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 45,100 in the 2025–2035 base year to 46,200 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 1,100 jobs, or +2.4%. Slower than average: 2.4% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,000 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 |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 68.2% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 29.4% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 2.4% |

## What the work involves

- Measure and cut insulation for covering surfaces, using tape measures, handsaws, power saws, knives, or scissors.
- Cover and line structures with blown or rolled forms of materials to insulate against cold, heat, or moisture, using saws, knives, rasps, trowels, blowers, or other tools and implements.
- Fit, wrap, staple, or glue insulating materials to structures or surfaces, using hand tools or wires.
- Distribute insulating materials evenly into small spaces within floors, ceilings, or walls, using blowers and hose attachments, or cement mortars.
- Cover, seal, or finish insulated surfaces or access holes with plastic covers, canvas strips, sealants, tape, cement or asphalt mastic.
- Fill blower hoppers with insulating materials.
- Move controls, buttons, or levers to start blowers and regulate flow of materials through nozzles.
- Read blueprints, and select appropriate insulation, based on space characteristics and the heat retaining or excluding characteristics of the material.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.1 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.

- Operation and Control — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Persuasion — 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

### Knowledge areas

- Building and Construction — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Extent Flexibility — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Trunk Strength — 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
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.3 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 | 6.78 |
| C — Conventional | 3.97 |
| I — Investigative | 1.78 |
| A — Artistic | 1.30 |
| S — Social | 1.05 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.00 |

### 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 | 87.4 |
| ISTP | 76.1 |
| ISFJ | 73.9 |
| ESTJ | 71.2 |
| INTJ | 64.7 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

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

- [Insulation Worker, Mechanical](https://nuecareer.com/careers/insulation-worker-mechanical) — median $58,340
- [Floor Layer, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles](https://nuecareer.com/careers/floor-layer) — median $56,460
- [Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/drywall-and-ceiling-tile-installer) — median $58,930
- [Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/roofer) — median $55,440
- [Sheet Metal Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sheet-metal-worker) — median $61,800
- [Plasterer and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plasterer-and-stucco-mason) — median $57,660
- [Brickmason and Blockmason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/brickmason-and-blockmason) — median $62,120
- [Tile and Stone Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tile-and-stone-setter) — median $55,690
- [Plumber](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plumber) — median $63,800
- [Carpenter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/carpenter) — median $60,580

## 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

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/insulation-worker-floor-ceiling-and-wall