Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,738
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$8,883
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,969
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$48,620
Kept after tax
$39,738
Worth in national money
$43,969
State rank
34
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nebraska is among the lower-paying states for drywall and ceiling tile installers. The middle earner takes $48,620, ranking 34 of 49 states — about 17.5% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Drywall and ceiling tile installers ranks 315 among 488 occupations Nebraska publishes pay for.
- Nebraska is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,620 the take-home is $39,738; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,969 would nationally. The average comes to $51,260, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Nebraska ranks 34 of 49 for drywall and ceiling tile installers, with a median of $48,620 — about 17.5% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 315 of 488 in Nebraska 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.
- Post-tax income for drywall and ceiling tile installers in Nebraska, on $48,620, is $39,738 — equivalent to $43,969 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 $51,260 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,580 |
| This salary | $48,620 |
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 Nebraska | $39,738 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,246 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,524 |
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 | $46,742 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,843 |
| 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 Nebraska earn under $48,620 and half over. The published range runs $37,140 at the tenth percentile to $62,580 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Nebraska the take-home figure of $39,738, from $48,620, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 315 of 488 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $43,969, the adjusted value of that $48,620 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 315 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for drywall and ceiling tile installers in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,140 to $62,580; 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.
- Take-home for Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,738 from $48,620. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 315 of 488 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $43,969 — the adjusted value of that $48,620 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 315 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $51,260, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,140 and the top tenth $62,580, so most people doing this work in Nebraska sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Nebraska sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $43,969 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Nebraska adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,738 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
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 Nebraska is $51,260. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,140 to $62,580) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $43,969 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 $39,738 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.