The average concrete finisher in the United States earns $60,050 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $57,020. That works out at about $28.87 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: Alaska averages $100,010 and Mississippi $43,470. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a concrete finisher actually does for that money
Cement masons and concrete finishers work for concrete contractors, general contractors and municipalities. It is early, physical, weather-bound work with a hard deadline built into every pour, and the finishers who can produce a flat, clean slab consistently are the ones who set their own rate.
What concrete finishers earn, from bottom to top
An average hides the spread, and the spread is what matters when you are deciding whether to enter the trade or what to pay someone. Here is the full range BLS publishes.
| Percentile | Annual | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | $39,190 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $47,010 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $57,020 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $66,870 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $85,480 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Concrete salary by state
Alaska pays the most at $100,010 a year, and Mississippi the least at $43,470. Cost of living explains part of that gap and licensing rules explain a good deal of the rest.
| # | State | Average annual | Median annual | Hourly | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $100,010 | $92,960 | $48.08 | 240 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $85,470 | $95,890 | $41.09 | 650 |
| 3 | Washington | $81,900 | $77,520 | $39.37 | 4,440 |
| 4 | Illinois | $77,800 | $78,170 | $37.40 | 5,890 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $72,720 | $63,840 | $34.96 | 1,590 |
| 6 | New York | $72,630 | $64,040 | $34.92 | 9,060 |
| 7 | California | $70,920 | $62,700 | $34.09 | 28,700 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $70,730 | $66,830 | $34.00 | 3,070 |
| 9 | Oregon | $70,260 | $68,530 | $33.78 | 2,170 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | $68,820 | $64,250 | $33.09 | 4,490 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $68,640 | $61,410 | $33.00 | 2,390 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $66,020 | $62,950 | $31.74 | 250 |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $64,280 | $61,680 | $30.90 | 320 |
| 14 | Nevada | $64,150 | $61,230 | $30.84 | 3,290 |
| 15 | Missouri | $64,140 | $61,390 | $30.84 | 6,220 |
| 16 | Ohio | $63,790 | $62,990 | $30.67 | 6,060 |
| 17 | Vermont | $62,570 | $61,160 | $30.08 | 270 |
| 18 | Montana | $62,150 | $61,620 | $29.88 | 780 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $62,030 | $61,610 | $29.82 | 5,180 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $61,100 | $58,640 | $29.37 | 610 |
| 21 | Delaware | $60,700 | $57,030 | $29.18 | 400 |
| 22 | Indiana | $60,360 | $61,270 | $29.02 | 4,390 |
| 23 | Colorado | $60,340 | $60,700 | $29.01 | 5,140 |
| 24 | Arizona | $59,530 | $58,910 | $28.62 | 7,520 |
| 25 | Wyoming | $59,520 | $58,450 | $28.62 | 620 |
| 26 | Michigan | $58,670 | $59,860 | $28.21 | 6,350 |
| 27 | New Hampshire | $58,570 | $54,210 | $28.16 | 300 |
| 28 | Iowa | $57,830 | $58,220 | $27.80 | 2,110 |
| 29 | Maine | $57,230 | $55,680 | $27.52 | 730 |
| 30 | Kansas | $56,820 | $52,130 | $27.32 | 3,610 |
| 31 | North Dakota | $56,800 | $57,710 | $27.31 | 1,190 |
| 32 | Idaho | $55,880 | $56,410 | $26.87 | 2,540 |
| 33 | Utah | $55,480 | $56,420 | $26.67 | 5,340 |
| 34 | Maryland | $54,340 | $51,950 | $26.13 | 2,540 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $54,150 | $49,360 | $26.03 | 1,930 |
| 36 | Virginia | $52,900 | $50,930 | $25.43 | 4,020 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $52,840 | $49,180 | $25.41 | 910 |
| 38 | New Mexico | $52,840 | $49,230 | $25.41 | 1,540 |
| 39 | Florida | $52,530 | $48,680 | $25.26 | 15,240 |
| 40 | Kentucky | $52,470 | $50,200 | $25.22 | 1,280 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $52,350 | $49,510 | $25.17 | 3,200 |
| 42 | West Virginia | $50,610 | $51,950 | $24.33 | 760 |
| 43 | Texas | $49,270 | $47,500 | $23.69 | 26,430 |
| 44 | Georgia | $49,240 | $46,240 | $23.67 | 3,400 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $48,800 | $47,160 | $23.46 | 2,550 |
| 46 | Tennessee | $48,690 | $47,910 | $23.41 | 3,920 |
| 47 | North Carolina | $47,210 | $46,780 | $22.70 | 4,610 |
| 48 | Oklahoma | $46,030 | $45,750 | $22.13 | 2,980 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $45,700 | $46,230 | $21.97 | 1,900 |
| 50 | Alabama | $45,600 | $44,720 | $21.92 | 2,110 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $43,470 | $43,980 | $20.90 | 930 |
Where the money is: highest paying metros
State averages flatten out the difference between a city and the rural county next to it. These are the metro areas paying concrete finishers the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairbanks-College, AK | $103,690 | $49.85 |
| 2 | Anchorage, AK | $99,060 | $47.63 |
| 3 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $92,610 | $44.52 |
| 4 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $87,880 | $42.25 |
| 5 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $86,770 | $41.72 |
| 6 | Bellingham, WA | $85,710 | $41.21 |
| 7 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $85,530 | $41.12 |
| 8 | Salinas, CA | $84,960 | $40.85 |
| 9 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $84,070 | $40.42 |
| 10 | Yakima, WA | $83,540 | $40.16 |
What moves the number
- Rarely licensed as a specialty, though a contractor license is needed to bid work in most states. Skill is judged on finished slabs rather than on paperwork.
- Pours start early and cannot stop, so the days are front-loaded and long. Cold and wet climates lose months of the year, which is visible in the state figures.
- Decorative and stamped work, polished concrete and structural commercial pours all pay above flatwork.
- The bottom ten percent of concrete finishers earn under $39,190 and the top ten percent clear $85,480. That gap is the trade telling you where the money is.
- Working for somebody else and working for yourself are different questions. These figures cover employed concrete finishers on a payroll, so they exclude the self-employed, and in this trade a large share of the best operators are exactly that.
What you can earn running the business instead
The number above is a wage. Running the business is a different calculation: you take the full ticket rather than an hourly rate, and what you keep depends on how many jobs you fit in a week, how quickly you get paid and how much of your day goes on scheduling, estimates and chasing invoices instead of on the work. That is the part software actually changes. Owners who put scheduling, estimating, invoicing and automated follow-up in one place tend to run more jobs with the same crew, which is where the gap between a concrete finisher wage and an owner income opens up.
Concrete salary FAQs
- How much do concrete finishers make a year?
- The median concrete finisher in the United States earns $57,020 a year and the average is $60,050, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do concrete finishers make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $28.87. Annual earnings are usually higher than that rate multiplied by a standard year, because overtime, call-outs and premium work are not in the base rate.
- Which state pays concrete finishers the most?
- Alaska pays the most at an average of $100,010 a year, followed by Hawaii at $85,470 and Washington at $81,900. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay concrete finishers the most?
- Fairbanks-College, AK tops the list at an average of $103,690 a year, with Anchorage, AK at $99,060. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can concrete finishers earn six figures?
- As an employee it is uncommon: the top ten percent earn $85,480. Owners are a different question, because they are paid on the job rather than on the hour, and owner income is not in these figures.
- Do these figures include self-employed concrete finishers?
- No. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program covers wage and salary workers, so sole proprietors and business owners are excluded. In a trade with as many owner-operators as this one, that matters when you read the number.
- Where does this concrete salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers" (SOC 47-2051). It is a survey of employers rather than of workers, which is why it is more reliable than self-reported salary sites.
All wage figures on this page are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. BLS suppresses figures in areas with too few employers to publish safely; those appear as n/a rather than an estimate.
