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Stonemasons: Career Profile

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

What Do Stonemasons Perform?

Typical responsibilities of stonemasons span:

• Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
• Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
• Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
• 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.
• Clean excess mortar or grout from surface of marble, stone, or monument, using sponge, brush, water, or acid.
• Shape, trim, face and cut marble or stone preparatory to setting, using power saws, cutting equipment, and hand tools.
• Mix mortar or grout and pour or spread mortar or grout on marble slabs, stone, or foundation.
• Construct and install prefabricated masonry units.

What Stonemasons Need to Know

Successful stonemasons rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Types of Stonemasons Jobs

People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:

• Artificial Stone Applicator
• Banker Mason
• Composition Stone Applicator
• Construction Monument Setter
• Curbstone Setter
• Flagstone Layer
• Formstone Fitter
• Granite Block Paver

How Many Stonemasons Are There?

The U.S. employs around 360,544 stonemasons working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to decline by -1.6% over the projection horizon.

How Much Do Stonemasons Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$64,233
Hourly median	$30.88
10th percentile	$35,547
25th percentile	$49,890
75th percentile	$78,576
90th percentile	$92,918

Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.

How Much Do Stonemasons Make in Different U.S. States?

State	Annual median salary
Washington	$93,320
Connecticut	$81,180
Minnesota	$80,870
Montana	$75,110
Wisconsin	$69,540
Vermont	$68,620
Oregon	$67,080
California	$64,880
Massachusetts	$62,650
Missouri	$61,700
Rhode Island	$60,910
South Dakota	$59,420
Maine	$58,580
Michigan	$58,120
Colorado	$58,120
Virginia	$58,040
New Jersey	$57,970
New Hampshire	$57,550
New York	$55,050
Nevada	$52,290
Florida	$52,040
Indiana	$50,960
Utah	$50,630
Kentucky	$48,510
Pennsylvania	$47,930
Maryland	$47,890
Kansas	$45,650
Texas	$44,980
Idaho	$44,670
Ohio	$43,610
Tennessee	$40,550
North Carolina	$39,530
Georgia	$39,210
Alabama	$34,650
Arizona	$34,120

Pay by U.S. Region

Earnings for stonemasons shift depending on where you work. Top regions by median wage:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Far Western US	$69,439	16.4%	1.10
New England	$61,568	11.0%	3.69
Rocky Mountains	$55,640	8.7%	2.51
Great Lakes	$55,125	9.8%	0.92
Plains States	$53,292	2.5%	0.99
Middle Atlantic	$50,914	26.7%	4.90
Southeast	$47,783	10.5%	0.66
Southwest	$41,850	14.3%	1.29

Top Metro Areas

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	WA	$96,640	220
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	CA	$71,870
Stockton-Lodi, CA	CA	$68,360	30
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	MA	$66,560	350
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	CA	$63,140	120
Kansas City, MO-KS	MO	$61,700	70
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	CO	$61,380
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	RI	$60,910

Industry Breakdown

The bulk of stonemasons are found across these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Construction	6,930	$52,400
Manufacturing	820	$46,170
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	690	$48,060
Retail Trade	170	$42,930

Stonemasons work in the following industries:

Tools and Technology

• Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
• Web platform development software: Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)

Work Environment

The work environment for stonemasons reflects the following characteristics:

• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
• Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions
• Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
• Spend Time Standing

Education and Training

Entry-level stonemasons positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.

Related Careers

Similar Occupations

• Brickmasons and Blockmasons (Primary-Short)
• Carpenters (Supplemental)
• Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles (Primary-Long)
• Floor Sanders and Finishers (Supplemental)
• Tile and Stone Setters (Primary-Short)
• Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers (Primary-Long)
• Terrazzo Workers and Finishers (Primary-Short)
• Construction Laborers (Supplemental)

Degree Programs

Students preparing for stonemasons typically earn programs in:

Construction Trades

1 programs across 1 majors

• Masonry

References

Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 47-2022.00 (Stonemasons).