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Best cities to start a plasterer business

Solo revenue, competition and local demand across 58 metros

Where a solo plasterer business has the most room Our calculation

Dallas, TX ranks first. One-person building finishing work businesses there average $83,322 a year in revenue, with 25.8 building finishing work businesses for every 10,000 residents (typical metro: 19.6). We scored all 58 metros where the Census publishes building finishing work business counts.

  1. 1
    DallasTEXAS · TX · $83,322 avg solo revenue · 25.8 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    76
  2. 2
    PhoenixARIZONA · AZ · $75,039 avg solo revenue · 21.5 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    75
  3. 3
    OgdenUTAH · UT · $70,215 avg solo revenue · 17.5 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth
    73
  4. 4
    RenoNEVADA · NV · $64,565 avg solo revenue · 14.2 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fewer competitors per resident and fast population growth
    71
  5. 5
    SeattleWASHINGTON · WA · $78,423 avg solo revenue · 19.7 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue
    70
  6. 6
    Cape CoralFLORIDA · FL · $74,388 avg solo revenue · 58.3 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    69
  7. 7
    Port St. LucieFLORIDA · FL · $70,790 avg solo revenue · 39.7 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    68
  8. 8
    Lake Havasu CityARIZONA · AZ · $64,566 avg solo revenue · 19.6 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    68
  9. 9
    DenverCOLORADO · CO · $82,452 avg solo revenue · 33.1 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    67
  10. 10
    ProvoUTAH · UT · $66,289 avg solo revenue · 21.8 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    67
  11. 11
    SacramentoCALIFORNIA · CA · $68,251 avg solo revenue · 15.7 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fewer competitors per resident
    66
  12. 12
    St. GeorgeUTAH · UT · $68,062 avg solo revenue · 35.5 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    62
  13. 13
    LoganUTAH · UT · $63,537 avg solo revenue · 19.2 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    59
  14. 14
    AlbuquerqueNEW MEXICO · NM · $58,945 avg solo revenue · 13.6 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fewer competitors per resident
    58
  15. 15
    San Luis ObispoCALIFORNIA · CA · $76,411 avg solo revenue · 20.5 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue
    57

Weights: average solo revenue 3, fewer competitors per resident 3, revenue compared with the local employee wage 2, new home permits 2, population growth 1. Each factor is a percentile among these metros.

Top 5 by each factor Government data

Highest solo revenue

  1. Dallas, TX: $83,322
  2. Denver, CO: $82,452
  3. Seattle, WA: $78,423
  4. Minneapolis, MN: $77,196
  5. San Luis Obispo, CA: $76,411

Least competition

  1. Visalia, CA: 8.5 per 10k residents
  2. Honolulu, HI: 11.4 per 10k residents
  3. San Jose, CA: 11.5 per 10k residents
  4. Stockton, CA: 11.5 per 10k residents
  5. Fresno, CA: 12.2 per 10k residents

Most new building

  1. Cape Coral, FL: 16.6 home permits per 1k
  2. Ocala, FL: 15.0 home permits per 1k
  3. St. George, UT: 14.5 home permits per 1k
  4. Provo, UT: 10.2 home permits per 1k
  5. Orlando, FL: 10.0 home permits per 1k

Fastest-growing population

  1. St. George, UT: +17.4%
  2. Ocala, FL: +17.3%
  3. Port St. Lucie, FL: +16.0%
  4. Provo, UT: +14.5%
  5. Cape Coral, FL: +14.4%

Every metro Government data

Click a column to sort. “Rate to match it” is the hourly rate you'd need to bill to replace the local employee median, at our default assumptions (25% for tax and benefits, $30,000 overhead, 1,400 billable hours). Try your own numbers in the rate calculator.

#MetroScoreSolo revenueBusinesses / 10k peopleEmployee medianRate to match itPermits / 1k
1Dallas, TX76$83,32225.8$56,990$72/hr8.3
2Phoenix, AZ75$75,03921.5$49,700$66/hr7.9
3Ogden, UT73$70,21517.5$54,010$70/hr5.5
4Reno, NV71$64,56514.2$48,130$64/hr5.2
5Seattle, WA70$78,42319.7$58,860$74/hr3.9
6Cape Coral, FL69$74,38858.3$37,130$55/hr16.6
7Port St. Lucie, FL68$70,79039.7$45,700$62/hr9.3
8Lake Havasu City, AZ68$64,56619.6$45,770$62/hr8.2
9Denver, CO67$82,45233.1$49,200$65/hr5.3
10Provo, UT67$66,28921.8$53,570$69/hr10.2
11Sacramento, CA66$68,25115.7$62,600$77/hr4.4
12St. George, UT62$68,06235.5$54,310$70/hr14.5
13Logan, UT59$63,53719.2$57,360$73/hr7.6
14Albuquerque, NM58$58,94513.6$37,450$55/hr3.1
15San Luis Obispo, CA57$76,41120.5$62,790$77/hr2.4
16Kansas City, MO57$75,43022.7$78,870$92/hr4.5
17San Jose, CA57$67,26911.5$72,700$86/hr2.8
18Santa Maria, CA55$69,71718.9$60,130$75/hr3.1
19Cincinnati, OH55$69,77622.0$60,000$75/hr3.2
20Washington, DC54$75,41427.2$64,310$79/hr2.8
21Houston, TX54$62,75129.0$49,910$66/hr8.7
22Ocala, FL54$60,41133.4$43,670$60/hr15.0
23Visalia, CA53$50,7348.5$47,130$64/hr3.7
24Deltona, FL53$61,73232.3$44,920$62/hr7.7
25Naples, FL53$65,83559.5$50,610$67/hr6.9
26Portland, OR53$67,84918.5$70,500$84/hr3.3
27Riverside, CA53$61,02916.8$53,580$69/hr3.4
28Stockton, CA52$57,70911.5$58,780$74/hr3.2
29Minneapolis, MN51$77,19624.8$108,160$118/hr3.9
30Philadelphia, PA51$75,87220.4$78,200$91/hr2.1
31Tampa, FL50$63,03034.1$48,260$65/hr6.9
32Tucson, AZ49$57,10318.5$46,820$63/hr4.4
33Orlando, FL49$62,03244.3$49,950$66/hr10.0
34Oxnard, CA48$66,10717.4$61,550$76/hr1.9
35Las Vegas, NV48$42,65813.6$57,140$72/hr6.2
36San Diego, CA48$62,20717.0$61,080$76/hr3.6
37Honolulu, HI47$67,04911.4$105,870$116/hr1.4
38Grand Rapids, MI47$69,15527.7$74,570$88/hr3.7
39Yuba City, CA46$45,86513.0$60,250$75/hr4.5
40Miami, FL45$63,86253.3$49,290$65/hr3.8
41Napa, CA45$66,24217.4$79,590$92/hr2.7
42Providence, RI44$69,95028.8$59,590$75/hr1.7
43Prescott Valley, AZ44$59,68528.1$54,830$70/hr7.0
44Yuma, AZ43$31,61516.4$44,320$61/hr5.5
45Redding, CA42$62,18415.4$58,270$73/hr1.4
46Santa Fe, NM42$58,66517.7$57,150$72/hr3.2
47Pittsburgh, PA42$64,05418.6$66,330$81/hr2.4
48Los Angeles, CA39$59,52016.0$57,930$73/hr2.1
49Fresno, CA39$41,50112.2$60,990$76/hr3.0
50San Francisco, CA38$61,46514.2$71,310$85/hr1.7
51St. Louis, MO38$63,25718.0$80,240$93/hr2.2
52Modesto, CA37$50,46113.8$61,360$76/hr2.2
53Santa Cruz, CA35$63,86119.6$68,210$82/hr1.8
54Cleveland, OH33$64,50527.9$64,500$79/hr1.9
55Salinas, CA32$55,20614.7$64,330$79/hr1.8
56Chicago, IL27$63,51722.1$96,240$107/hr1.7
57New York, NY21$56,26522.6$120,180$129/hr2.2
58Detroit, MI21$60,80629.3$77,290$90/hr2.0

How to read this

Revenue is what one-person businesses take in before expenses, not take-home pay. A high figure with lots of competitors per resident usually means a busy but crowded market; a lower figure with few competitors can mean room to grow. Business counts come from the Census Nonemployer Statistics (2024) and County Business Patterns (2023), grouped as “building finishing work”, so they include some firms outside the trade itself.

For pay as an employee in any of these cities, see the plasterer salary overview or the best cities for plasterers to work.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024; County Business Patterns 2023; Census Building Permits 2025; Census population estimates; BLS OEWS May 2025. Our data

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