Plasterers in the Chicago area earn a median of $96,240 a year, 64% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #4 of 58 U.S. metros nationwide.
It's the only Illinois metro with published pay for this trade; see plasterer pay in Illinois, including rural areas.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for plasterers here is in the top 20% of U.S. metros, and also in the top 20% once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (4.7%) and the population is shrinking (-0.0% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 16,723 one-person building finishing work businesses averaging $63,517 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $107/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
A summary of the numbers on this page; nothing here is estimated beyond them.
Chicago scorecard for plasterers Our calculation
Grades compare Chicago with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers.
Pay over time
The median pay for plasterers in the Chicago area went from $72,040 in 2020 to $96,240 in 2025, up 33.6%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's +6.6% — a real raise.
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 Chicago Our calculation
Prices in the Chicago area run 4% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $92,900 would in a typical place, ranking #4 of 58 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 plasterers do
Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Cover surfaces such as windows, doors, or sidewalks to protect from splashing.
- Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns.
- Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping.
- Create decorative textures in finish coat, using brushes or trowels, sand, pebbles, or stones.
- Mix mortar and plaster to desired consistency or direct workers who perform mixing.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, plasterer jobs are projected to grow 2.8% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 1,500 openings a year. About 17% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often plasterers 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 Illinois Official source
The main state licensing office in Illinois is the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Most trades (including general contractors and electricians) are licensed locally; plumbers are licensed by the state health department. It can point you to the right license for plasterers.
Official Illinois licensing site ↗
Requirements for plasterers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, plasterers have 157 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.8× 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).
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Chicago area's unemployment rate was 4.7% in 2025 (all workers, not just plasterers), 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 Chicago area is 31 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 24% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 62% drive alone, 9% take transit and 15% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Chicago area's population shrank 0.0% from 2020 to 2025 (9,435,971 → 9,434,123), ranking #298 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). More people moved out than in (net -82,274).
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Chicago
The Chicago area has about 3,924,020 homes. 61% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is older than most; 7% were built in 2010 or later. Older homes often need more repair, replacement and upgrade work. 66% of households own their home, and the median home value is $339,700.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Chicago are down 15% from 2021 to 2025 (18,511 → 15,778).
In 2025 the Chicago area approved permits for 15,778 new homes (9,497 single-family), or 1.7 per 1,000 residents, ranking #318 of 393 metros, a slower building market than most.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 16,723 one-person businesses (no employees) in building finishing work, averaging $63,517 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 3,964 building finishing work companies that have employees (about 22,376 workers in total). 78% 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 $96,240 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
How this calculator works. 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 plasterer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Chicago with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Pay over time: BLS OEWS May 2020–2025, local; inflation from the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).
- 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.
- Housing: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local (age of homes, ownership, home values).
- Population: Census Bureau population estimates, 2020–2025, 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.