Statewide pay Government data
Brickmasons in Illinois earn a statewide median of $89,980 a year, 43% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #3 of 49 states and DC. About 2,490 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Illinois
See all states on the brickmason overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes brickmason pay for 3 Illinois metros: Champaign, Chicago and Rockford.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChicagoILLINOIS · IL | $89,980 | $86,857 | 2,140 |
| ChampaignILLINOIS · IL | $83,250 | $89,802 | 40 |
| RockfordILLINOIS · IL | $78,080 | $84,728 | 40 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Illinois's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances, to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical training: apprenticeship.
Nationally, brickmasons have 131 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.5× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is falls, slips and trips.
What the work is like Government data
How often brickmasons deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Getting started: registered apprenticeship Government data
Most brickmasons train through a paid apprenticeship: you work and earn under experienced pros while taking classes, and pay usually rises as you progress. 727,586 people were active registered apprentices nationwide in FY2026, up 87% since FY2016, and construction is the largest field with 290,043 of them (40%), according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Search apprenticeship openings ↗Find training programs & sponsors ↗
Official U.S. Department of Labor tools at Apprenticeship.gov. Counts: DOL Apprentices by State dashboard, FY2026 (all occupations).
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of brickmason apprentices in Illinois who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 47% completed (U.S.: 37%), about 34 graduates a year. The typical program runs 5,400 hours, about 3 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
From 2015 to 2024, masonry contractors in Illinois filed 14 severe injury reports (a hospital stay, amputation or loss of an eye), 1 of them involving an amputation. The most common cause was falls, slips and trips (50% of reports). These cover everyone at those employers, not only brickmasons. OSHA also opened 7 fatality investigations at masonry contractors in Illinois over the same years (federal and state programs).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Where to train in Illinois Government data
2 schools in Illinois offer masonry programs below the bachelor's level. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College Chicago, IL · Public | Certificate | $14,434 | 15 | — |
| Parkland College Champaign, IL · Public | Certificate | $13,194 | 0 | — |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Licensing in Illinois Official source
The main state licensing office in Illinois is the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Most trades (including general contractors and electricians) are licensed locally; plumbers are licensed by the state health department. It can point you to the right license for brickmasons.
Official Illinois licensing site ↗
Requirements for brickmasons vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 13.1% of wage and salary workers in Illinois were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#12 of 51 states and D.C.), and 14.0% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only brickmasons.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Illinois
All trades in Illinois.