---
title: "Stone Cutter and Carver, Manufacturing"
description: "Cut or carve stone according to diagrams and patterns."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/stone-cutter-and-carver-manufacturing"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Stone Cutter and Carver, Manufacturing

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-9195 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-9195.03

Cut or carve stone according to diagrams and patterns.

Also advertised as: Carver; Cutter; Granite Cutter; Granite Stone Cutter; Polisher; Sandblast Carver; Shape Carver; Stone Carver.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $46,170 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $22.20/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $35,850 to $61,530, with the middle half between $39,280 and $53,000
- **Total US employment:** 33,190
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +5.8% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 5,100 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 70/100 — 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 33,190 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $35,850 |
| 25th | $39,280 |
| 50th (median) | $46,170 |
| 75th | $53,000 |
| 90th | $61,530 |
| Mean (average) | $47,500 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MT | $57,860 | $61,134 | 150 |
| HI | $55,990 | $50,923 | 40 |
| OR | $52,740 | $51,025 | 410 |
| CT | $52,520 | $50,690 | 170 |
| WA | $51,780 | $48,387 | 1,130 |
| NH | $51,470 | $49,412 | 160 |
| MA | $50,550 | $47,798 | 1,200 |
| MD | $50,360 | $47,981 | 110 |
| CO | $49,530 | $48,063 | 390 |
| CA | $49,190 | $44,427 | 3,590 |
| AZ | $49,060 | $48,730 | 470 |
| VT | $48,660 | $49,674 | 240 |
| ME | $48,640 | $50,118 | 120 |
| WI | $48,030 | $51,044 | 550 |
| DE | $47,940 | $48,032 | 90 |

33 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 48 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/stone-cutter-and-carver-manufacturing/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/stone-cutter-and-carver-manufacturing.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 43,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 45,500 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 2,500 jobs, or +5.8%. Faster than average: 5.8% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 5,100 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:** High school diploma or equivalent (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 |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 65.6% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 21.8% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 5.6% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 5.4% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.0% |
| Some College Courses | 0.7% |

## What the work involves

- Verify depths and dimensions of cuts or carvings to ensure adherence to specifications, blueprints, or models, using measuring instruments.
- Move fingers over surfaces of carvings to ensure smoothness of finish.
- Drill holes and cut or carve moldings and grooves in stone, according to diagrams and patterns.
- Shape, trim, or touch up roughed-out designs with appropriate tools to finish carvings.
- Select chisels, pneumatic or surfacing tools, or sandblasting nozzles, and determine sequence of use.
- Lay out designs or dimensions from sketches or blueprints on stone surfaces, freehand or by transferring them from tracing paper, using scribes or chalk and measuring instruments.
- Carve designs or figures in full or bas relief on stone, employing knowledge of stone carving techniques and sense of artistry to produce carvings consistent with designers' plans.
- Guide nozzles over stone, following stencil outlines, or chip along marks to create designs or to work surfaces down to specified finishes.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.9 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
- Active Learning — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.3 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.

- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — 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
- Coordination — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Selection — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mathematics — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.2 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 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Finger Dexterity — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Visualization — 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), Artistic (A), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| A — Artistic | 3.83 |
| C — Conventional | 3.75 |
| I — Investigative | 1.88 |
| S — Social | 1.23 |
| 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 | 76.5 |
| ISTP | 74.8 |
| INTJ | 65.9 |
| ISFJ | 65.1 |
| ISFP | 62.1 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ, ISTP. 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.

- [Stonemason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/stonemason) — median $57,390
- [Tile and Stone Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tile-and-stone-setter) — median $55,690
- [Molder, Shaper, and Caster, Except Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/molder-shaper-and-caster) — median $46,170
- [Terrazzo Worker and Finisher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/terrazzo-worker-and-finisher) — median $76,170
- [Grinding and Polishing Worker, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-and-polishing-worker-hand) — median $42,660
- [Furniture Finisher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/furniture-finisher) — median $44,540
- [Structural Metal Fabricator and Fitter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/structural-metal-fabricator-and-fitter) — median $51,330
- [Etcher and Engraver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/etcher-and-engraver) — median $43,310
- [Cabinetmaker and Bench Carpenter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cabinetmaker-and-bench-carpenter) — median $46,680
- [Layout Worker, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/layout-worker-metal-and-plastic) — median $63,870

## 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/stone-cutter-and-carver-manufacturing