How much do brickmasons make in Texas in 2026?

Brickmasons in Texas earn a median wage of $56,410 per year, which works out to $27.12 per hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of brickmasons in the state earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working in a slower market, you're more likely landing near the 25th percentile at $48,480 a year ($23.31/hr). Experienced hands or those working in high-demand metro areas tend to sit at the 75th percentile, which comes in at $59,430 annually ($28.57/hr).

The spread between the bottom quarter and the top quarter is about $10,950 per year. That gap matters. It tells you there's real room to move up the pay scale as you build years on the job, sharpen your skills, and take on more complex work. A mason who can read detailed plans, lay decorative or specialty brick patterns, and supervise a small crew is going to command wages closer to that $59,430 figure than someone just starting out on residential block work.

Texas is a large state with significant variation in construction activity depending on where you work. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin all run heavy commercial and residential construction pipelines. Masonry demand tracks closely with how much commercial construction, institutional building (schools, hospitals, government), and high-end residential work is active in a given area. Urban centers with dense commercial development tend to pay more than rural or smaller markets simply because the volume of work keeps crews consistently busy and gives workers more leverage when negotiating day rates or picking employers.

Experience level is one of the clearest drivers of pay in this trade. A first- or second-year mason's helper or apprentice will typically earn below the 25th percentile. Journeyman-level masons with five or more years of consistent bricklaying, block work, and tuck-pointing experience are the ones hitting the median and above. Specialty skills — such as working with natural stone, installing arches, or doing historic restoration work — can push earnings past the 75th percentile mark.

No union scale data is available for brickmasons in Texas through this source. Texas is a right-to-work state, and union density in the building trades here is lower than in many northern and midwestern states. That means most brickmasons in Texas are working under open-shop or merit-shop arrangements, where pay is set by the employer and negotiated individually rather than through a collective bargaining agreement.

Hours matter as much as the hourly rate in this trade. Bricklaying is outdoor, weather-dependent work. Texas summers can push heat-index temperatures well above 100°F, which can slow production and, in some cases, limit working hours during peak heat. Wet winters or extended cold snaps can idle crews for days at a time. Steady, year-round work is more achievable in Texas than in northern states, but it's still a trade where annual earnings depend heavily on how consistently you stay employed across all four seasons.

All figures on this page come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. These are employer-reported wage data collected across Texas, covering both full-time and part-time workers in the brickmason and blocklayer occupation (SOC 47-2021).