How much do plasterers make in Florida in 2026?

The median plasterer in Florida earns $47,420 a year, which works out to roughly $22.80 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That is the midpoint — half of Florida plasterers earn more, half earn less. If you are just starting out or working in a lower-wage region of the state, expect pay closer to the 25th percentile: $39,180 annually, or about $18.84 an hour. Experienced plasterers with steady commercial or high-end residential work land at the 75th percentile, pulling in $52,760 a year — around $25.37 an hour.

These numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. They cover plasterers and stucco masons working across all Florida employers, from small finishing crews to large commercial contractors.

The $13,580 gap between the 25th and 75th percentile is meaningful. The biggest factors that push pay toward the top of that range are years of experience, the type of work you specialize in, and where in Florida you are working. Plasterers doing ornamental or restoration work — historical buildings, custom homes on the Gulf Coast, high-rise condos in Miami — typically command more than those doing basic stucco exteriors on tract housing. Commercial and institutional jobs also tend to pay better than residential patch-and-repair work, partly because they require more consistent skill and carry tighter schedules.

Geography matters inside Florida. The Miami metro, Tampa Bay area, and Orlando corridor have higher concentrations of construction activity and generally support wages closer to the upper end of the range. Rural counties and smaller markets in the Panhandle or Central Florida tend to run closer to the median or below.

No union scale is currently available for this trade in Florida. Plasterers here work primarily as non-union employees or as independent subcontractors. If you are a subcontractor, your effective hourly rate needs to cover your own taxes, tools, insurance, and slow periods — so a $25-an-hour bid rate is not equivalent to a $25-an-hour wage at a company that provides benefits.

Hours also drive total annual income. Florida construction runs year-round given the climate, which is a real advantage over northern states. A plasterer who logs consistent 45-to-50-hour weeks and picks up overtime will clear significantly more than the annual figures above suggest, since those BLS numbers reflect standard full-time pay. Overtime at time-and-a-half on a $22.80 base adds roughly $11.40 for every extra hour worked.

For apprentices and helpers moving into the trade, starting pay typically falls below the 25th percentile until core skills — scratch coat, brown coat, finish coat sequencing, proper mixing ratios, and surface prep — are solid enough to work at production speed. Most plasterers reach the median range after three to five years of consistent, full-time work.

If you are comparing offers from different Florida employers, the $47,420 median is your baseline anchor. An offer below $39,180 deserves a hard look at why it falls in the bottom quarter. An offer above $52,760 is genuinely above average for the state and worth taking seriously.