How much do drywall installers make in Texas in 2026?

The median drywall installer in Texas earns $47,590 a year, which works out to $22.88 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the middle of the pack — half of Texas drywall installers earn more than that figure, and half earn less. If you're just starting out or working in a slower market, expect to land closer to the 25th percentile at $40,100 a year ($19.28/hr). Experienced installers on busy commercial crews can reach the 75th percentile at $58,430 a year ($28.09/hr). These figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.

The spread between the bottom quarter and the top quarter is over $18,000 a year. That gap is real and it's driven by a handful of concrete factors. First is experience. A first-year installer hanging residential board is not bringing the same speed or quality as a ten-year veteran doing level-5 finish work on a hotel corridor. Contractors pay for proven productivity. Second is job type. Residential new construction tends to pay less than commercial work. A large office build-out or a hospital renovation involves more complex framing, multi-layer fire-rated assemblies, and tighter tolerances — all of which command higher wages. Third is crew size and employer. A large commercial drywall subcontractor with steady backlog can often pay more consistently than a small residential outfit that slows down between projects.

Texas is a big state and pay varies by metro. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Houston have the highest construction volume in the state, and that volume generally keeps wages at or above the state median. Austin has seen heavy commercial and multifamily construction, which pushes demand for installers. Markets like Lubbock or Laredo tend to run cooler, and wages there are more likely to sit near or below the 25th percentile.

Overtime is a significant part of total earnings for many drywall installers. When a commercial project is racing toward a deadline, 50- or 55-hour weeks are common. At $22.88 straight time, overtime hours kick in at $34.32 per hour. A single week of 10 overtime hours adds over $340 to a paycheck. Workers who consistently land on deadline-driven commercial jobs can easily push their total annual take-home well past the reported 75th percentile without ever getting a raise in their base rate.

No union scale data is available for drywall installers in Texas through the BLS OEWS. Texas is a right-to-work state and union density in the construction trades is lower here than in states like Illinois or California. Most drywall work in Texas is performed under open-shop conditions, meaning pay is set by the individual employer. That makes it more important to know the market benchmarks so you can negotiate from a position of actual knowledge rather than guesswork.

Beyond base hourly pay, benefits vary considerably. Some larger commercial subcontractors offer health insurance, paid time off, and a simple retirement contribution. Many smaller shops pay an all-in hourly rate with no benefits, which means the worker needs to account for the cost of private health coverage when comparing offers. A job paying $24/hr with solid health coverage can be worth more in total compensation than a $26/hr job with nothing on top.

For workers looking to move up the pay scale, the clearest path is developing finishing skills alongside hanging speed. Installers who can hang board fast and finish to level 4 or level 5 are genuinely harder to find and easier to place on high-paying commercial jobs. Adding metal framing skills broadens the range of projects you qualify for. In a state with Texas-level construction activity, those skills translate directly into dollars.

TradesPays will update these figures as new BLS OEWS data becomes available. Bookmark this page if you're tracking your market or negotiating a new position.