Drywall Installers in the Salem area earn a median of $62,400 a year, 16% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #38 of 169 metros for drywall installer pay nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Portland and Bend, but less in Albany.
It's one of 6 Oregon metros with published pay for this trade; see drywall installers across Oregon.
Drywall Installer pay in Salem at a glance
- Drywall installers in the Salem, OR metro earn a median $62,400 a year ($30.00 an hour), #38 of 169 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $36,460 and $112,900.
- After local prices, that median buys what $60,203 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,294 a month, 25% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among drywall installers in Salem.
Comparing two real offers with overtime and commutes? Use the job offer checker. The median here works out to about $30 an hour in yearly terms.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for drywall installers here is above average compared with other U.S. metros, and also above average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (5.0%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+2.7% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 479 one-person building finishing work businesses averaging $70,052 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $77/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Salem scorecard for drywall installers Our calculation
Grades compare Salem 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 ($53,860).
Pay over time
The median pay for drywall installers in the Salem area went from $68,540 in 2020 to $62,400 in 2025, down 9.0%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -27.4% — a real pay cut.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Salem Our calculation
Prices in Salem run 4% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $60,203 would in a typical place, ranking #54 of 168 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
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.
Want the full picture? Build a monthly budget for Salem from this pay, local rent and prices.
What drywall installers do
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.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.
- Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.
- Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
- Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.
- Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, drywall installer jobs are projected to grow 2.5% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 6,600 openings a year. About 19% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often drywall installers 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.
Licensing in Oregon Official source
The main state licensing office in Oregon is the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. It can point you to the right license for drywall installers.
Official Oregon licensing site ↗
Requirements for drywall installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
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.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying OR metros for drywall installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PortlandOREGON · OR | $81,100 | $76,930 | 1,100 |
| BendOREGON · OR | $63,970 | $61,743 | 100 |
| SalemOREGON · OR | $62,400 | $60,203 | 200 |
| EugeneOREGON · OR | $59,240 | $58,325 | 70 |
| AlbanyOREGON · OR | $50,540 | $49,500 | 40 |
| MedfordOREGON · OR | $50,440 | $49,727 | 80 |
See every metro in Oregon.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Salem area's unemployment rate was 5.0% in 2025 (all workers, not just drywall installers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 5.0% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Salem area is 25 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 13% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 71% drive alone, 1% take transit and 11% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Salem area's population grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025 (434,267 → 445,814), ranking #188 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +9,291) account for most of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Salem
The Salem area has about 171,685 homes. 48% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is about as old as most; 13% were built in 2010 or later. 62% of households own their home, and the median home value is $447,000.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Salem are down 34% from 2021 to 2025 (2,154 → 1,426).
In 2025 the Salem area approved permits for 1,426 new homes (873 single-family), or 3.2 per 1,000 residents, ranking #210 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 479 one-person businesses (no employees) in building finishing work, averaging $70,052 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Salem compares among the best cities to start a drywall installer business.
They compete with 382 building finishing work companies that have employees (about 2,163 workers in total). 70% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
What new hires earn here
People newly hired into construction jobs in the Salem area earn about $61,500 a year at the start, compared with $73,100 for all construction workers who've stayed with their employer. By age, construction workers 19 to 24 average about $51,800 a year here, and those 45 to 54 about $84,700. That's for every construction job combined, not just drywall installers, but it shows how much experience is worth here.
Census Quarterly Workforce Indicators, construction (NAICS 23), private employers, 2024 Q4–2025 Q3. Monthly earnings × 12.
Pay on public projects
On federally funded building construction in Marion County, the law (the Davis-Bacon Act) sets a minimum of $45.52 an hour plus $22.03 an hour in benefits (or as cash), $67.55 in all for drywall installers. That base rate is above the local median wage of $30.00. It comes from local union contracts.
U.S. Department of Labor wage determination OR20260104, 2026, via SAM.gov. Many states set their own prevailing wages for state and city projects.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Salem area has had 4 federal major disasters, mostly severe storms and wildfires. The latest was declared in 2026 (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides).
FEMA disaster declarations, counties in this metro, fiscal years 2016–2026. COVID-19 declarations are left out.
Traveling here for work
Out-of-town drywall installers on travel jobs here are often paid per diem. The federal rate is $113 a night for lodging plus $68 a day for meals, the standard federal rate (no local rate is set here): about $1,267 a week on top of wages. Compare a travel job here with a local one.
GSA per diem rates, FY2027 (October 2026–September 2027). Employers set their own per diem; many use the GSA rate as a guide.
Working outdoors in Salem Government data
In an average year, Salem has 18 days at 90°F or hotter (fewer than most metros; typical metro 33), including 2 at 100°F or more, 49 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 92 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more. Summer afternoons average 81°F and winter nights 36°F. That matters for drywall installers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Salem Mcnary Fld, OR station. Compare cities on outdoor work weather.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $62,400 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. 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 drywall installer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Salem with another city →
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ToolCheck an offer in SalemSee where it falls among local drywall installers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolSalem budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Salem metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Salem against every other metro for drywall installers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.