Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,444
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$11,716
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,712
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$61,160
Kept after tax
$49,444
Worth in national money
$50,712
State rank
15
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Pennsylvania pays drywall and ceiling tile installers a middle wage of $61,160, ranking 15 of 49 states and sitting about 3.78% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 225.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $61,160, take-home of $49,444 is worth roughly $50,712 in national money. The average comes to $61,980, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania's median for drywall and ceiling tile installers is $61,160, about 3.78% above the national figure and 15 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, drywall and ceiling tile installers sits at 225 of 492 — 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.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for drywall and ceiling tile installers, whose median is $61,160, the adjusted figure of $50,712 differs little from $49,444 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $61,980 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 | $39,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,980 |
| This salary | $61,160 |
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 Pennsylvania | $49,444 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,322 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,102 |
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 | $58,823 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,542 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $61,160. The published range is $39,410 up to $77,980, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $49,444 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $61,160. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 225 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,712 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. 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 225.
- Reported values are medians; for drywall and ceiling tile installers in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,410 to $77,980. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $49,444, from $61,160, assumes a single Pennsylvania filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 225 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 15 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,712, worked from $61,160, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 225 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,410 and the top tenth $77,980, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $50,712 in national terms.
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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $49,444.
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 ($39,410 to $77,980) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $50,712 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 $49,444 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.