What is a Stonemason?

Stonemason Job Description Build stone structures, such as piers, walls, and abutments. Lay walks, curbstones, or special types of masonry for vats, tanks, and floors.

Stonemason Responsibilities

• Repair cracked or chipped areas of stone or marble, using blowtorch and mastic, and remove rough or defective spots from concrete, using power grinder or chisel and hammer.
• Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
• Remove wedges, fill joints between stones, finish joints between stones, using a trowel, and smooth the mortar to an attractive finish, using a tuck pointer.
• Line interiors of molds with treated paper and fill molds with composition-stone mixture.
• Replace broken or missing masonry units in walls or floors.
• Position mold along guidelines of wall, press mold in place, and remove mold and paper from wall.

What Every Stonemason Should Know

These are the skills Stonemasons say are the most useful in their careers:

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Types of Stonemason

• Stone Derrickman and Rigger
• Mason
• Marble Setter
• Monument Erector
• Monument Setter

Job Demand for Stonemasons

There were about 18,900 jobs for Stonemason in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 9.5% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,800 new jobs for Stonemason by 2026. The BLS estimates 1,800 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Stonemason are Utah, Colorado, and Oregon. Watch out if you plan on working in Vermont, Mississippi, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Stonemason Salary

The typical yearly salary for Stonemasons is somewhere between $26,400 and $66,690.

Stonemasons who work in Nevada, New Jersey, or Wyoming, make the highest salaries.

How much do Stonemasons make in each U.S. state?

State	Annual Mean Salary
Alabama	$43,710
Arizona	$35,960
California	$46,860
Colorado	$41,180
Connecticut	$43,790
Florida	$39,360
Georgia	$41,080
Hawaii	$50,490
Idaho	$36,060
Illinois	$50,390
Indiana	$48,430
Kansas	$42,600
Kentucky	$41,980
Louisiana	$30,900
Maine	$33,830
Maryland	$41,750
Massachusetts	$50,360
Michigan	$41,930
Minnesota	$45,670
Missouri	$43,150
Nevada	$57,490
New Hampshire	$46,750
New Jersey	$54,890
New Mexico	$32,120
New York	$41,560
North Carolina	$39,340
Ohio	$38,840
Oklahoma	$36,130
Oregon	$44,940
Pennsylvania	$51,010
South Carolina	$32,240
Tennessee	$38,020
Texas	$39,730
Utah	$45,380
Vermont	$45,630
Virginia	$49,420
Washington	$47,070
Wyoming	$52,340

What Tools do Stonemasons Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Stonemasons:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Office
• Intuit QuickBooks
• SAP software
• Virtual private networking VPN software
• Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
• CPR Visual Estimator
• Tradesman's Software Master Estimator
• RISA Technologies RISA-3D

How to Become a Stonemason

Education needed to be a Stonemason:

What work experience do I need to become a Stonemason?

Where Stonemasons Are Employed

Below are examples of industries where Stonemasons work:

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: Leonard G. via Creative Commons ShareAlike 1.0

More about our data sources and methodologies.