How much do brickmasons make in New York in 2026?

Brickmasons in New York earn a median annual salary of $84,410, which works out to roughly $40.58 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That sits well above the national median for this trade and reflects the steady demand for skilled masonry work across a state that runs from dense urban construction in New York City to commercial and institutional projects upstate.

Where you fall on the pay scale depends heavily on experience, employer type, and the volume of work in your area. Workers at the 25th percentile — typically those earlier in their careers or working for smaller contractors — earn around $74,160 a year, or about $35.65 an hour. Get five or more years of solid experience and move into more complex restoration, commercial, or high-rise work, and the 75th percentile comes into view at $107,600 annually, or approximately $51.73 an hour. That's a spread of more than $33,000 between the lower and upper tiers, which means experience and specialization translate directly into real money here.

New York City and its immediate metro area consistently produce the highest brickmason wages in the state. The density of commercial construction, historic brownstone restoration, and large-scale institutional projects keeps demand high and drives pay toward the upper end of the range. Brickmasons working in the five boroughs or on Long Island are more likely to approach or exceed the 75th percentile than those working in smaller markets like the Southern Tier or the North Country, where project volume and contractor competition are lower.

Overtime and seasonality matter more in this trade than in many others. Masonry work slows in winter, especially for exterior jobs, so brickmasons who can pick up cold-weather work — interior restoration, heated enclosures, prefab panel installation — tend to smooth out their annual earnings. Those who consistently log 50-hour weeks during the busy season can push their effective annual income well above the figures listed here, since the BLS data captures base wages and does not account for overtime premiums or per diem payments.

Some brickmasons in New York work on projects covered by a collective bargaining agreement — if that applies to you, check with your local for current negotiated rates, since those figures are not captured in this dataset.

The numbers on this page come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, published May 2025. The BLS surveys employers, not workers, so wages from self-employed masons or small cash-basis contractors may not be fully represented. The figures are a solid benchmark, but your actual pay can sit above or below them depending on your specific employer, project type, and hours worked.

To move toward the higher end of the range, the clearest path is diversifying your skill set. Brickmasons who can also handle natural stone, terra cotta restoration, or tuckpointing on historic buildings command a premium in New York's preservation-heavy market. Supervisory roles — foreperson or working foreman — also push pay upward without necessarily leaving the tools behind. Larger general contractors and construction managers on public projects typically pay more than residential subcontractors, so targeting those employers is another direct lever.

New York does not require a state-issued license to work as a brickmason, but New York City has its own licensing requirements for certain supervisory and contractor roles. If you're running your own crew or bidding jobs independently in the city, check the NYC Department of Buildings requirements before you start. For workers entering the trade, a formal apprenticeship — typically four years — provides structured on-the-job hours plus related instruction and moves you through pay scales tied to your hours completed, not just your calendar time in the trade.