Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,917
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$12,963
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,003
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$65,880
Kept after tax
$52,917
Worth in national money
$47,003
State rank
7
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for drywall and ceiling tile installers is strong here. California's middle earner gets $65,880, putting the state 7 of 49 — about 11.79% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Drywall and ceiling tile installers ranks 257 among 492 occupations California publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $65,880 the take-home is $52,917. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $47,003 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $74,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For drywall and ceiling tile installers, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $65,880, ranking 7 of 49 and running about 11.79% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Position 257 of 492 in California places drywall and ceiling tile installers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $52,917 for drywall and ceiling tile installers, from $65,880. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,003. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $74,680 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $120,240 |
| This salary | $65,880 |
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 California | $52,917 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,115 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,714 |
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 | $63,145 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,748 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $65,880. The published range is $46,050 up to $120,240, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $52,917, worked from $65,880. 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 257 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,003 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 257.
- Reported values are medians; for drywall and ceiling tile installers in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,050 to $120,240. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $52,917, on $65,880 for work ranking 257 of 492 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 257 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,003, worked from $65,880, 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 California address, on work sitting at 257 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $74,680 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $46,050 at the bottom tenth to $120,240 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $47,003 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and California's own levy, $52,917 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in California is $74,680. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($46,050) and the ninetieth ($120,240) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,003 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $52,917 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.