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

The median tile and stone setter in Pennsylvania earns $70,230 a year, which works out to $33.76 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's a solid middle-of-the-road number, but the range around it tells a more complete story.

At the 25th percentile, setters earn $50,250 annually — about $24.16 an hour. Workers at this end of the scale are typically newer to the trade, still building speed and pattern vocabulary, or working in lower-cost regions of the state. At the 75th percentile, pay climbs to $78,670 a year, or roughly $37.82 an hour. Those numbers reflect experienced journeymen, workers with specialty skills in stone fabrication or large-format tile, and those positioned in high-demand metro markets.

The gap between the 25th and 75th percentile is $28,420 per year. That's not a minor difference — it's the equivalent of more than 13 months of a 25th-percentile setter's take-home before taxes. Experience and skill genuinely move the needle in this trade.

Geography within Pennsylvania matters. The Philadelphia metro and its surrounding suburbs — including Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware counties — generate consistent demand from commercial remodelers, high-end residential developers, and hospitality contractors. Pittsburgh's construction market has also stayed active, particularly in mixed-use and healthcare facility work. Setters willing to commute into these dense urban cores, or work for contractors with steady commercial pipelines there, tend to land in the upper half of the pay distribution faster than those working scattered residential jobs in rural areas.

Specialty work is one of the clearest paths to pushing past the median. Setting natural stone — marble, slate, travertine, quartzite — requires a different level of care than standard ceramic or porcelain tile. So does large-format tile work, where substrate prep and lippage control are demanding. Contractors pay more for setters who reliably handle these materials without waste, callbacks, or pattern errors. If you can read shop drawings, set to architectural specs, and work cleanly on commercial finish schedules, you're competing at the 75th percentile level, not the median.

Overtime is a real income factor in this trade. Tile and stone work is often the last finish trade in before punch-out, which means project managers push hard for schedule on the back end. A setter averaging just five hours of overtime per week at a time-and-a-half rate on $33.76 base pay earns an extra $253 weekly — nearly $13,200 annually. Setters on commercial projects with tight handoff schedules can hit this regularly during busy seasons, typically spring through early fall.

Apprenticeship programs exist in Pennsylvania that pair on-the-job training with classroom instruction in layout, material science, and waterproofing systems. Completing a formal apprenticeship — usually three to four years — gives setters a credential that commercial contractors and union shops recognize. Some workers may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates.

Pennsylvania does not require a statewide license specifically for tile and stone setters, but individual municipalities and some commercial general contractors require proof of trade training or apprenticeship completion before putting workers on a job. Knowing ANSI/TCNA standards and OSHA 10 or 30 certification can also open doors on larger commercial sites where GCs vet subcontractor crews before award.

The figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, May 2025 release. BLS OEWS data is based on employer surveys and captures base wages — it does not include overtime pay, bonuses, per diem, or benefits. Real total compensation for experienced setters working full commercial schedules typically runs higher than the figures shown here.