Tile Setters in the Richmond area earn a median of $50,130 a year, 1% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #62 of 120 metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Virginia Beach.
Richmond scorecard for tile setters Our calculation
Grades compare Richmond 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 ($50,495).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Richmond Our calculation
Prices in Richmond run 2% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $51,227 would in a typical place, ranking #61 of 120 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 tile setters do
Apply hard tile, stone, and comparable materials to walls, floors, ceilings, countertops, and roof decks.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Align and straighten tile using levels, squares, and straightedges.
- Finish and dress the joints and wipe excess grout from between tiles, using damp sponge.
- Cut and shape tile to fit around obstacles and into odd spaces and corners, using hand and power cutting tools.
- Determine and implement the best layout to achieve a desired pattern.
- Mix, apply, and spread plaster, concrete, mortar, cement, mastic, glue or other adhesives to form a bed for the tiles, using brush, trowel and screed.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, tile setter jobs are projected to grow 9.8% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 3,300 openings a year. About 21% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
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.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying VA metros for tile setters
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| RichmondVIRGINIA · VA | $50,130 | $51,227 | 120 |
| Virginia BeachVIRGINIA · VA | $45,260 | $46,211 | 160 |
See every metro in Virginia.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Richmond area's unemployment rate was 3.4% in 2025 (all workers, not just tile setters), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 4.0% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Richmond area is 27 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 13% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 70% drive alone, 1% 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 Richmond are roughly flat from 2021 to 2025 (9,547 → 9,091).
In 2025 the Richmond area approved permits for 9,091 new homes (4,399 single-family), or 6.8 per 1,000 residents, ranking #86 of 393 metros, among the busiest building markets in the country.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 2,608 one-person businesses (no employees) in building finishing work, averaging $62,620 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 573 building finishing work companies that have employees (about 3,912 workers in total). 65% 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 $50,130 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 tile setter pricing & estimate templates →Compare Richmond 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.