Statewide pay Government data
Brickmasons in North Carolina earn a statewide median of $49,940 a year, 21% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #44 of 49 states and DC. About 1,760 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near North Carolina
See all states on the brickmason overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes brickmason pay for 6 North Carolina metros: Asheville, Charlotte, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| CharlotteNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $52,500 | $53,930 | 760 |
| RaleighNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $49,920 | $50,857 | 290 |
| AshevilleNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $48,310 | $50,059 | 30 |
| WilmingtonNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $48,200 | $49,989 | 80 |
| WinstonNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $47,910 | $52,052 | 140 |
| GreenvilleNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $44,370 | $50,191 | 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 North Carolina'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 North Carolina who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 29% completed (U.S.: 37%), about 9 graduates a year. The typical program runs 6,000 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
North Carolina runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, masonry contractors filed 459 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was falls, slips and trips (55%). OSHA also opened 10 fatality investigations at masonry contractors in North Carolina 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 North Carolina Government data
5 schools in North Carolina 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Carolina Community College Sanford, NC · Public | Certificate | $14,877 | 17 | — |
| Halifax Community College Weldon, NC · Public | Certificate | $10,848 | 13 | — |
| Southeastern Community College Whiteville, NC · Public | Certificate | $12,630 | 8 | — |
| Mayland Community College Spruce Pine, NC · Public | Certificate | $11,156 | 0 | — |
| Pamlico Community College Grantsboro, NC · Public | Certificate | $14,114 | 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 North Carolina Official source
The main state licensing office in North Carolina is the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors. Electrical and plumbing/HVAC have their own state boards. It can point you to the right license for brickmasons.
Official North Carolina licensing site ↗
Requirements for brickmasons vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 2.5% of wage and salary workers in North Carolina were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#50 of 51 states and D.C.), and 3.1% 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 North Carolina
All trades in North Carolina.