How much do drywall installers make in North Carolina in 2026?

The median drywall installer in North Carolina earns $45,080 per year, which works out to roughly $21.67 per hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That figure sits in the middle of the pack — half of drywall installers in the state earn more, half earn less. If you're trying to figure out where you stand or what to shoot for, that number is your baseline.

At the 25th percentile, drywall installers in North Carolina take home $36,240 annually, or about $17.42 per hour. Workers at this level are typically earlier in their careers, picking up speed on framing, hanging, and finishing but not yet the ones a foreman puts on the complex ceilings or tight commercial work. It's honest pay for someone still building their skill set, but it leaves real money on the table compared to what experienced hands earn.

At the 75th percentile, annual pay climbs to $50,530 — roughly $24.29 per hour. That's the range where you find installers who can run a crew, read blueprints without being walked through them, and handle both residential and commercial jobs without hand-holding. The gap between the 25th and 75th percentile is $14,290 per year — that's not a small difference, and it reflects how much experience, speed, and versatility actually pay off in this trade.

North Carolina's drywall installer wages reflect the state's active construction market. The Research Triangle, Charlotte metro, and the Wilmington coastal corridor have all seen sustained residential and commercial building activity, which keeps demand for skilled drywall hands steady. Installers who can work efficiently on large multi-family projects or commercial tenant build-outs tend to command rates at or above the 75th percentile because those jobs have tight schedules and contractors can't afford slow hangers.

Speed matters as much as quality in this trade. Experienced installers who can hang full sheets quickly, minimize waste, and deliver clean edges on the first pass are the ones contractors call back repeatedly — and pay accordingly. If you're consistently hitting the bottom of your board count, that's the fastest explanation for sitting closer to the 25th percentile.

No union scale data is currently available for drywall installers in North Carolina. The state has a relatively low rate of union construction density, so most drywall work is negotiated directly between installers and contractors, either as hourly employees or as piece-rate subcontractors. Piece-rate arrangements — where you're paid per board hung or per square foot finished — can push fast, experienced workers well above the median, but they also put the risk of slow days and lean schedules entirely on the installer.

For context, the spread from the 25th to the 75th percentile — $17.42 to $24.29 per hour — represents what you can realistically expect to earn in North Carolina at different stages of your career and in different work environments. Residential new construction, light commercial, and large-scale commercial projects each pay differently, and being able to work across all three is the clearest path to the upper end of the range.

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 wages and reflect actual paid hours, not estimates from self-reported surveys.