Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,692
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$9,308
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,005
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$48,000
Kept after tax
$38,692
Worth in national money
$43,005
State rank
36
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for drywall and ceiling tile installers is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $48,000. That is 36 of 49 states, and about 18.55% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 271.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,000 the take-home is $38,692; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,005 would nationally. The average lands at $47,910, below the middle of the range.
- For drywall and ceiling tile installers, Alabama sits in the lower band at $48,000, ranking 36 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 18.55%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, drywall and ceiling tile installers sits at 271 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for drywall and ceiling tile installers in Alabama, on $48,000, is $38,692 — equivalent to $43,005 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $47,910 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,890 |
| This salary | $48,000 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $38,692 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,748 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,073 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,441 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,297 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of drywall and ceiling tile installers in Alabama earn under $48,000 and half over. The published range runs $37,280 at the tenth percentile to $60,890 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $38,692, worked from $48,000. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 271 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,005 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 271.
- Figures are distribution medians for drywall and ceiling tile installers in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,280 to $60,890; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Alabama take-home of $38,692, on $48,000 for work ranking 271 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 271 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,005, worked from $48,000, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 271 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,280 and the top tenth $60,890, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $43,005.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $38,692.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,280 to $60,890) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $43,005 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,692 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.