How much do drywall installers make in New Jersey in 2026?

The median drywall installer in New Jersey earns $75,080 per year, which works out to roughly $36.10 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That sits well above the national median for the trade, reflecting the high cost of construction labor in the state and the volume of commercial and residential work concentrated in the New York metropolitan corridor and along the I-95 spine.

Pay spreads wide in this trade. At the 25th percentile, drywall installers take home $53,680 annually, or about $25.81 an hour. These are typically newer workers still building speed and finishing technique — the two things foremen watch most closely before bumping someone up. At the 75th percentile, earnings jump to $115,270 per year, around $55.42 an hour. That upper tier belongs to experienced hangers and finishers who work fast, work clean, and have built a track record on commercial jobs, high-end residential projects, or both.

The gap between the 25th and 75th percentile — more than $61,000 a year — is larger than in many trades. Drywall is production work. A faster, more precise installer can handle significantly more square footage per shift than someone who is still developing, and wages reflect that output difference directly. Contractors running tight schedules on multi-family or office-space buildouts will pay more to keep a top hanger on their crew.

Geography inside New Jersey matters. Workers based in or regularly traveling into Bergen County, Hudson County, and the greater Newark area typically access the highest-paying commercial jobs, many of them tied to the dense construction activity feeding off New York City's market. Workers in the central and southern parts of the state — Burlington, Camden, Atlantic City corridors — still find solid work, but the project scale and associated pay rates tend to run somewhat lower. If you're willing to drive or take on projects in the northern counties, the difference in your annual earnings can be substantial.

Overtime is a real factor in this trade. Drywall work often accelerates toward building deadlines — certificate-of-occupancy dates don't move, and general contractors will authorize overtime to stay on schedule. An installer earning the median $36.10 an hour picks up $54.15 per hour at time-and-a-half. Even a modest six hours of overtime per week adds roughly $8,500 to annual earnings over a full year. Workers who make themselves available for push periods consistently earn toward the upper end of the range.

Specialty work moves pay up faster than almost anything else. Installers who add Level 5 finishing, soundproofing systems, fire-rated assembly installation, or steel-stud framing to their skill set become harder to replace. Contractors pay to retain versatile workers who don't need a second specialist brought in for every detail. If you're mid-career and looking to move from the median toward the 75th percentile, adding one or two of these skills is usually the most direct path.

New Jersey does not require a state license specifically for drywall installation, but many larger commercial contractors require OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 certification as a condition of employment on their job sites. Holding an OSHA 30 card signals to employers that you're serious about the trade and ready for larger, more complex projects — the kind that pay at the upper end of the scale.

Some drywall installers in New Jersey are covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates. Non-union workers negotiate wages directly with their employer, and pay on that side of the market is driven by your speed, your finish quality, and your reputation with general contractors.

The figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. BLS data captures base wages reported by employers and does not include overtime pay, per diem, or benefits. Your actual take-home will differ depending on your specific employer, project type, and hours worked.