Brickmasons in the Greenville area earn a median of $49,730 a year, 21% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #131 of 150 metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Charlotte, but less in Spartanburg.
Greenville scorecard for brickmasons Our calculation
Grades compare Greenville with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($62,950).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Greenville Our calculation
Prices in Greenville run 7% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $53,324 would in a typical place, ranking #125 of 149 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What brickmasons do
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.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
- Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
- Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
- Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
- Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, brickmason jobs are projected to grow 1.1% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 4,100 openings a year. About 18% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
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.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying SC metros for brickmasons
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| GreenvilleSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $49,730 | $53,324 | 60 |
| CharlestonSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $48,690 | $48,226 | 50 |
| ColumbiaSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $48,590 | $51,878 | 80 |
| SpartanburgSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $47,990 | $52,707 | 50 |
| Myrtle BeachSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $47,220 | $50,426 | 50 |
See every metro in South Carolina.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Greenville area's unemployment rate was 4.1% in 2025 (all workers, not just brickmasons), equal to the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 3.4% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Greenville area is 24 minutes each way, about the same as the typical metro (24 min). 11% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 76% drive alone, 0% take transit and 12% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Greenville are down 22% from 2021 to 2025 (10,604 → 8,255).
In 2025 the Greenville area approved permits for 8,255 new homes (7,317 single-family), or 8.6 per 1,000 residents, ranking #44 of 393 metros, among the busiest building markets in the country.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 1,167 one-person businesses (no employees) in foundation, framing & exterior work, averaging $101,317 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 263 foundation, framing & exterior work companies that have employees (about 1,714 workers in total). 66% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $49,730 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get brickmason pricing & estimate templates →Compare Greenville with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.