Plasterers in the Pittsburgh area earn a median of $66,330 a year, 13% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #15 of 58 metros nationwide.
Pittsburgh scorecard for plasterers Our calculation
Grades compare Pittsburgh 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 ($58,820).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Pittsburgh Our calculation
Prices in Pittsburgh run 5% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $70,064 would in a typical place, ranking #11 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.
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).
Highest-paying PA metros for plasterers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhiladelphiaPENNSYLVANIA · PA | $78,200 | $76,253 | 80 |
| PittsburghPENNSYLVANIA · PA | $66,330 | $70,064 | 50 |
See every metro in Pennsylvania.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Pittsburgh area's unemployment rate was 4.2% in 2025 (all workers, not just plasterers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 6.0% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Pittsburgh area is 26 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 16% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 70% drive alone, 3% take transit and 16% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Pittsburgh are up 11% from 2021 to 2025 (5,223 → 5,797).
In 2025 the Pittsburgh area approved permits for 5,797 new homes (3,452 single-family), or 2.4 per 1,000 residents, ranking #264 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 3,800 one-person businesses (no employees) in building finishing work, averaging $64,054 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 747 building finishing work companies that have employees (about 5,755 workers in total). 63% 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 $66,330 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 plasterer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Pittsburgh 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.