---
title: "Plasterer and Stucco Mason"
description: "Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/plasterer-and-stucco-mason"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Plasterer and Stucco Mason

**Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-2161 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-2161.00

Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.

Also advertised as: Applicator; Ornamental Plasterer; Plaster Applicator; Plaster Mechanic; Plasterer; Plasterer Journeyman; Plasterer Mechanic; Plastering Contractor.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $57,660 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $27.72/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $39,560 to $96,710, with the middle half between $47,970 and $71,310
- **Total US employment:** 19,310
- **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:** +2.8% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,500 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 19,310 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $39,560 |
| 25th | $47,970 |
| 50th (median) | $57,660 |
| 75th | $71,310 |
| 90th | $96,710 |
| Mean (average) | $62,050 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NY | $120,180 | $111,359 | Not published by BLS |
| HI | $104,260 | $94,824 | 110 |
| MN | $102,530 | $103,964 | 160 |
| IL | $93,790 | $93,829 | 270 |
| NH | $93,000 | $89,281 | Not published by BLS |
| MO | $79,380 | $87,407 | 420 |
| MI | $72,990 | $75,860 | 210 |
| OR | $71,180 | $68,865 | 170 |
| PA | $70,030 | $71,773 | 180 |
| NJ | $69,990 | $64,326 | 50 |
| VA | $64,120 | $63,420 | 100 |
| OH | $62,200 | $67,045 | 180 |
| CA | $59,940 | $54,137 | 6,780 |
| MD | $56,890 | $54,202 | 140 |
| IN | $53,930 | $57,785 | 60 |

13 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 28 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/plasterer-and-stucco-mason/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/plasterer-and-stucco-mason.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 22,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 23,600 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 600 jobs, or +2.8%. About as fast as average: 2.8% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,500 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:** Long-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 | 68.0% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 27.9% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 2.8% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 1.4% |

## What the work involves

- Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns.
- 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.
- Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping.
- Create decorative textures in finish coat, using brushes or trowels, sand, pebbles, or stones.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.6 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.

- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — 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
- Operation and Control — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Building and Construction — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Near Vision — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Trunk Strength — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Extent Flexibility — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — 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 | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 3.30 |
| A — Artistic | 2.56 |
| I — Investigative | 1.56 |
| S — Social | 1.38 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.05 |

### 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 | 79.3 |
| ISTP | 74.4 |
| ISFJ | 68.4 |
| ESTJ | 63.1 |
| INTJ | 62.7 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ, ISTP.

## Related occupations

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

- [Helpers--Painter, Paperhanger, Plasterer, and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason) — median $40,470
- [Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/drywall-and-ceiling-tile-installer) — median $58,930
- [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
- [Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/roofer) — median $55,440
- [Painter, Construction and Maintenance](https://nuecareer.com/careers/painter-construction-and-maintenance) — median $49,400
- [Insulation Worker, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall](https://nuecareer.com/careers/insulation-worker-floor-ceiling-and-wall) — median $49,120
- [Tile and Stone Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tile-and-stone-setter) — median $55,690
- [Brickmason and Blockmason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/brickmason-and-blockmason) — median $62,120
- [Cement Mason and Concrete Finisher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cement-mason-and-concrete-finisher) — median $57,020
- [Floor Layer, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles](https://nuecareer.com/careers/floor-layer) — median $56,460

## 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/
- **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/plasterer-and-stucco-mason