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Map of Washington, DC showing 1 metro area with skilled trade pay data
Washington, DC: 1 metro with trade pay data

Drywall Installer pay in Washington, DC

Statewide and by city · BLS, May 2025

$59,070typical metro median
$59,070highest: Washington

Pay by city Government data

BLS publishes drywall installer pay for 1 Washington, DC metro: Washington.

MetroMedian payReal payJobs
WashingtonWASHINGTON, DC · DC$59,070$54,2502,210

Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate

The job (national)

Blueprint-style drawing of a framed wall and roof with dimensions, illustrating drywall installer work in Washington, DC
Drywall Installer pay in Washington, DC: $59,070 median, BLS May 2025.

Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fireproofing, or acoustical material.

Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,600 openings a year. Typical training: moderate-term on-the-job training.

Nationally, drywall installers have 187 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 2.2× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.

What the work is like Government data

How often drywall installers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.

Outdoors, in all kinds of weatherOften
Indoors with heating and air conditioningSometimes
Very hot or cold conditionsOften
Working at heightsVery often
Climbing ladders, scaffolds or polesOften
Cramped spaces and awkward positionsSometimes
Loud noiseOften
Hazardous conditionsOccasionally
Standing, bending, kneeling and walkingOften
SittingRarely

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.

Licensing in Washington, DC Official source

The main state licensing office in Washington, DC is the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. It can point you to the right license for drywall installers.

Official Washington, DC licensing site ↗

Requirements for drywall installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.

Union membership

In 2025, 9.2% of wage and salary workers in Washington, DC were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#23 of 51 states and D.C.), and 10.7% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only drywall installers.

BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.

Cities in Washington, DC

WashingtonWASHINGTON, DC · DC+3.3%population since 2020 · 3.8% unemployment

All trades in Washington, DC.

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