How much do drywall installers make in Colorado in 2026?

The median drywall installer in Colorado earns $61,780 a year, which works out to about $29.70 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of installers in the state earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working in a slower market, expect to land closer to the 25th percentile at $48,730 annually ($23.43/hr). Experienced hands and those working steadier commercial schedules tend to push toward the 75th percentile at $70,250 a year ($33.77/hr). These figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.

The spread between the bottom quartile and the top is $21,520 a year — real money that reflects differences in experience, employer type, project scale, and geography within the state. That gap is worth paying attention to when you're deciding where to work and what jobs to take.

Colorado's front range corridor — Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins — carries the bulk of commercial and residential construction activity. Drywall installers working on mid-rise and high-rise commercial projects in the Denver metro typically see steadier work and higher pay than those doing small residential remodels in rural parts of the state. Consistent 40-plus-hour weeks in commercial work add up fast compared to the stop-and-start nature of scattered residential jobs, even if the stated hourly rate looks similar.

Finishing skills raise your value on the job. An installer who can hang board, tape, mud, and finish to a Level 5 surface is more useful to a contractor than someone who only hangs. Contractors hate gaps in the crew lineup, so a worker who covers multiple stages of the work is harder to let go and easier to justify paying at the higher end of the range.

Ceiling work, metal framing, and EIFS (exterior insulation and finish systems) are specialty skills that not every installer has. If you've put in time on those systems, you have a real argument for pay above the median. Same goes for lead-abatement certification if you're working on older buildings — that's a credential that opens up demo and remediation work that plain installers can't touch.

Tools and transportation matter in this trade. Some Colorado contractors supply everything; others expect you to show up with your own stilts, knives, and hawks. If you're supplying your own gear, factor that into your effective hourly rate when comparing offers. A job that pays $30/hr but expects $1,500 worth of your own tools is not the same deal as $28/hr where everything is provided.

Overtime is common on deadline-driven commercial jobs, and Colorado requires time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a week. At the median rate of $29.70/hr, a single overtime hour pays $44.55. A week with ten overtime hours adds roughly $148 net above a straight-time week — that stacks up across a long project schedule.

No union scale data is available for drywall installers in Colorado at this time. Workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement may see different base rates, benefits, and apprenticeship wage ladders than what the BLS figures reflect, since the OEWS data blends both union and non-union employment.

If you're sizing up a job offer, use the $61,780 median as your anchor. Offers below $48,730 ($23.43/hr) deserve a hard look at the hours, the benefits, and how steady the workload actually is. Offers at or above $70,250 ($33.77/hr) are attainable but typically require a combination of proven finishing skill, commercial experience, and a track record a contractor can verify.