Home › Tile Setter › New York

Map of New York showing 13 metro areas with skilled trade pay data
New York: 13 metros with trade pay data

Tile Setter pay in New York

Statewide and by city · BLS, May 2025

$61,260statewide median a year
$29.45median an hour
#11of 47 states
2,990tile setters employed statewide

Statewide pay Government data

Tile setters in New York earn a statewide median of $61,260 a year, 21% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #11 of 47 states. About 2,990 people work in the trade statewide.

Statewide pay range

$39,520Entry · 10th$50,13025th$61,260Median$74,69075th$96,700Top · 90th

States ranked near New York

Connecticut$63,150
Wisconsin$62,680
New Jersey$62,370
New York$61,260
Nevada$61,200
Missouri$60,590
Nebraska$59,350

See all states on the tile setters nationwide.

Pay by city Government data

BLS publishes tile setter pay for 6 New York metros: Albany, Buffalo, Kiryas Joel, New York, Rochester and Syracuse.

RochesterNEW YORK · NY$61,710
New YorkNEW YORK · NY$61,410
SyracuseNEW YORK · NY$60,290
Kiryas JoelNEW YORK · NY$59,700
BuffaloNEW YORK · NY$58,250
AlbanyNEW YORK · NY$57,670
MetroMedian payReal payJobs
RochesterNEW YORK · NY$61,710$63,596110
New YorkNEW YORK · NY$61,410$54,5562,600
SyracuseNEW YORK · NY$60,290$62,971100
Kiryas JoelNEW YORK · NY$59,700$54,55980
BuffaloNEW YORK · NY$58,250$60,776110
AlbanyNEW YORK · NY$57,670$57,921110

Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate

The job (national)

Blueprint-style drawing of a framed wall and roof with dimensions, illustrating tile setter work in New York
Tile Setter pay in New York: $61,260 statewide median, BLS May 2025.

Apply hard tile, stone, and comparable materials to walls, floors, ceilings, countertops, and roof decks.

Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,300 openings a year. Typical training: long-term on-the-job training.

Nationally, tile setters have 138 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.6× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.

What the work is like Government data

How often tile setters deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.

Outdoors, in all kinds of weatherSometimes
Indoors with heating and air conditioningSometimes
Very hot or cold conditionsSometimes
Working at heightsOccasionally
Climbing ladders, scaffolds or polesOccasionally
Cramped spaces and awkward positionsSometimes
Loud noiseVery often
Hazardous conditionsRarely
Standing, bending, kneeling and walkingOften
SittingRarely

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 New York Official source

New York licenses most trades at the city or county level (e.g. New York City). Check with the building or licensing office where you plan to work.

Requirements for tile setters vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.

Union membership

In 2025, 21.3% of wage and salary workers in New York were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#2 of 51 states and D.C.), and 22.5% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only tile setters.

BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.

Cities in New York

RochesterNEW YORK · NY-0.7%population since 2020 · 3.7% unemployment
New YorkNEW YORK · NY+0.6%population since 2020 · 4.8% unemployment
SyracuseNEW YORK · NY-1.3%population since 2020 · 3.7% unemployment
Kiryas JoelNEW YORK · NY+3.0%population since 2020 · 3.6% unemployment
BuffaloNEW YORK · NY-0.8%population since 2020 · 4.1% unemployment
AlbanyNEW YORK · NY+1.9%population since 2020 · 3.4% unemployment

All trades in New York.

Top