Drywall Installers in the Memphis area earn a median of $47,100 a year, 13% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #135 of 169 metros for drywall installers nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Little Rock.
It's one of 5 Tennessee metros with published pay for this trade; see drywall installer pay in Tennessee.
Drywall Installer pay in Memphis at a glance
- Drywall installers in the Memphis, TN metro earn a median $47,100 a year ($22.65 an hour), #135 of 169 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $37,530 and $63,580.
- After local prices, that median buys what $51,096 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,172 a month, 30% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among drywall installers in Memphis.
Comparing two real offers with overtime and commutes? Use the job offer checker. The median here works out to about $23 an hour in yearly terms.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for drywall installers here is below average compared with other U.S. metros, and also below average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (4.4%) and the population is shrinking (-0.4% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 2,770 one-person building finishing work businesses averaging $74,079 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $63/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Memphis scorecard for drywall installers Our calculation
Grades compare Memphis 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 Memphis area went from $51,610 in 2020 to $47,100 in 2025, down 8.7%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -27.2% — a real pay cut. Some years are missing because BLS redrew or didn't publish this metro.
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 Memphis Our calculation
Prices in Memphis run 8% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $51,096 would in a typical place, ranking #116 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 cost-of-living budget for Memphis 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 Tennessee Official source
The main state licensing office in Tennessee is the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors. It can point you to the right license for drywall installers.
Official Tennessee 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 TN metros for drywall installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| NashvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $50,640 | $52,565 | 500 |
| MemphisTENNESSEE · TN | $47,100 | $51,096 | 140 |
| KingsportTENNESSEE · TN | $45,670 | $52,830 | 40 |
| ChattanoogaTENNESSEE · TN | $45,170 | $49,386 | 60 |
| ClarksvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $39,480 | $43,410 | 40 |
See every metro in Tennessee.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Memphis area's unemployment rate was 4.4% in 2025 (all workers, not just drywall installers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 6.2% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Memphis 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 10% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Memphis area's population shrank 0.4% from 2020 to 2025 (1,346,138 → 1,341,412), ranking #308 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). More people moved out than in (net -14,343).
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Memphis
The Memphis area has about 586,553 homes. 43% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is about as old as most; 12% were built in 2010 or later. 60% of households own their home, and the median home value is $282,900.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Memphis are down 37% from 2021 to 2025 (5,205 → 3,298).
In 2025 the Memphis area approved permits for 3,298 new homes (3,082 single-family), or 2.5 per 1,000 residents, ranking #260 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 2,770 one-person businesses (no employees) in building finishing work, averaging $74,079 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Memphis compares among the best cities to start a drywall installer business.
They compete with 218 building finishing work companies that have employees (about 2,200 workers in total). 50% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
What new hires earn here
People newly hired into construction jobs in the Memphis area earn about $63,100 a year at the start, compared with $85,900 for all construction workers who've stayed with their employer. By age, construction workers 19 to 24 average about $49,700 a year here, and those 45 to 54 about $97,600. 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.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Memphis area has had 18 federal major disasters, more than in 99% of metros, mostly severe storms and winter storms. The latest was declared in 2026 (Severe Winter Storm). After big storms, repair and rebuild work can pull in traveling crews; see what a travel job pays.
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 $135 a night for lodging plus $74 a day for meals, the Memphis rate: about $1,463 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 Memphis Government data
In an average year, Memphis has 72 days at 90°F or hotter (more than most metros; typical metro 33), including 2 at 100°F or more, 44 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 74 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more, and 3 inches of snow. Summer afternoons average 91°F and winter nights 35°F. That matters for drywall installers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Memphis International Airport, TN 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 $47,100 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 Memphis with another city →
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ToolBest cities for drywall installersRank every metro on pay, buying power, rent and jobs.Is a job offer here any good?
ToolCheck an offer in MemphisSee where it falls among local drywall installers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolMemphis budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Memphis 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 Memphis against every other metro for drywall installers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.