How much do tile & stone setters make in Georgia in 2026?

Tile and Stone Setters in Georgia earn a median annual wage of $47,840, which works out to $23.00 per hour based on a 2,080-hour work year. That number sits squarely in the middle of the state's range — half of Georgia tile setters earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working smaller residential jobs, you're more likely to land near the 25th percentile at $43,560 a year ($20.94/hr). Experienced hands who've built a specialty — large-format porcelain, natural stone, or commercial work — push toward the 75th percentile at $57,340 annually ($27.57/hr). All figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.

That $13,780 gap between the bottom and top quartiles tells you something important: the spread in this trade is real and it's driven by factors you can actually control. The setters pulling $57,000-plus aren't just showing up — they're doing work that demands precision, takes longer to learn, and has less tolerance for error.

What moves your pay in this trade comes down to a handful of things. Material complexity is the biggest lever. Ceramic floor tile on a slab is entry-level work. Large-format porcelain panels (24x48 and bigger), book-matched marble, or hand-laid mosaic require tighter tolerances, better layout skills, and more experience reading a floor for lippage. Contractors pay more for setters who can handle those jobs without supervision. Commercial and multifamily work in metro Atlanta — hotels, mixed-use towers, hospital corridors — tends to pay better than scattered residential remodels, partly because the volume is higher and partly because specs are tighter and inspections more frequent.

Geography within Georgia matters too. The Atlanta metro area, including Gwinnett, Fulton, Cobb, and DeKalb counties, is where the bulk of the commercial tile work is concentrated. Setters willing to drive to active job sites or who live within striking distance of the city's construction core have more consistent access to higher-paying projects. Markets like Savannah and Augusta have active construction activity as well, but the volume of large commercial tile projects skews toward metro Atlanta.

Certifications from the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) — particularly the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) credential — are increasingly requested by general contractors on commercial bids. Holding that credential signals to a GC that you know the TCNA handbook, understand setting material requirements, and won't create a warranty problem. That kind of documentation gives you leverage when negotiating a day rate or hourly wage.

Self-employed tile setters and those working under their own contractor's license often earn above the 75th-percentile threshold because they capture the markup on materials and can bid jobs directly. The trade-off is overhead, inconsistent work pipelines, and the responsibility of carrying liability insurance and managing your own schedule. For setters who stay on an employer's payroll, the 75th percentile at $27.57/hr is a realistic target after several years of steady commercial experience.

No union scale is currently available for Tile and Stone Setters in Georgia. Unlike some trades where union halls set a published journeyman rate, tile setter wages in this state are negotiated directly between the worker and the employer or contractor. That makes it more important to know where you stand relative to the BLS benchmarks — so you're not leaving money on the table when you take a job or take on a bid.

TradesPays pulls from the same BLS OEWS data that contractors and HR departments use. Check back as new survey releases come out to keep your numbers current.