How much do cement masons make in Michigan in 2026?

Michigan cement masons at the median earn $59,860 a year, which works out to about $28.78 an hour on a standard 2,080-hour year. That's the number you can anchor your expectations to if you have a few years of experience and work a full construction season.

The bottom quarter of cement masons in Michigan — those just starting out, working part-time, or in smaller markets — earns $48,480 or less per year, roughly $23.31 an hour. Breaking above that entry-level floor usually takes a combination of apprenticeship completion, consistent full-season work, and exposure to more demanding flatwork or decorative finishing. Workers in the top 25 percent of the pay range earn $64,480 or more annually, which is about $31.00 an hour. Getting there typically requires specialization, foreman responsibilities, or positioning yourself in the busiest construction markets in the state.

The $16,000 spread between the 25th and 75th percentile — $48,480 versus $64,480 — tells you this trade rewards skill accumulation. A cement mason who only places and screeds basic residential slabs is competing in a very different market from one who can lay out, float, and finish decorative concrete, trowel machine floors in industrial settings, or handle post-tension slab work for commercial projects.

Michigan's construction season compresses the year. Concrete work slows sharply once temperatures drop below freezing, which is a real constraint in the Upper Peninsula and even in much of the Lower Peninsula from November through March. Workers who pick up heated enclosure pours, winter flatwork on interior projects, or travel south during slow months can push their annual hours — and their annual take-home — above what the BLS annual figure assumes. Conversely, workers who get laid off for two or three months will land below the median even if their hourly rate is solid.

Geography within Michigan matters. Southeast Michigan — Metro Detroit, Oakland County, Macomb County — drives the bulk of commercial construction volume in the state. Industrial and warehouse projects in the I-75 and I-94 corridors have kept concrete finishers busy in recent years. Grand Rapids and the west side of the Lower Peninsula have their own commercial base. The Upper Peninsula is a smaller market with fewer large commercial jobs, which tends to put downward pressure on hours available even when hourly rates aren't dramatically different.

Overtime is a meaningful variable. A cement mason pulling 10 to 15 hours of overtime per week during peak season at time-and-a-half can add several thousand dollars to an annual total. Because the BLS OEWS data captures a snapshot of hourly wages, it doesn't account for overtime, per diem, or tool allowances that can change real take-home pay.

Some workers may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates.

To move your pay toward or past the 75th percentile, the most direct levers are: getting certified on ride-on power trowels and laser screeds, building a reputation for commercial and industrial flatwork, seeking foreman or lead roles on larger pours, and targeting contractors who work on large-footprint warehouse and distribution center projects, which remain active in Michigan's logistics corridor.

All figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 release. BLS collects employer-reported data across thousands of worksites and is the most consistent wage benchmark available for comparing trade pay across states.