Construction & Extraction
Stonemasons
Also called: Marble Installer, Marble Shop Worker, Mason, Mason Mechanic
US median pay
$57,390
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-5.4%
declining
Openings a year (US)
500
9,300 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
Build stone structures, such as piers, walls, and abutments. Lay walks, curbstones, or special types of masonry for vats, tanks, and floors.
What they do day to day
- Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
- Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
- Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
- Remove wedges, fill joints between stones, finish joints between stones, using a trowel, and smooth the mortar to an attractive finish, using a tuck pointer.
- Clean excess mortar or grout from surface of marble, stone, or monument, using sponge, brush, water, or acid.
- Shape, trim, face and cut marble or stone preparatory to setting, using power saws, cutting equipment, and hand tools.
- Mix mortar or grout and pour or spread mortar or grout on marble slabs, stone, or foundation.
- Construct and install prefabricated masonry units.
- Smooth, polish, and bevel surfaces, using hand tools and power tools.
- Lay brick to build shells of chimneys and smokestacks or to line or reline industrial furnaces, kilns, boilers and similar installations.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Time Management3.2/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.2/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.2/5
- Operations Monitoring3.1/5
- Coordination3.1/5
- Operation and Control2.9/5
- Management of Personnel Resources2.9/5
- Quality Control Analysis2.8/5
Knowledge
- Building and Construction4.7/5
- Design3.7/5
- Mathematics3.7/5
- Mechanical3.1/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.0/5
- Administration and Management3.0/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Highest education of people in this job:
- High school diploma58%
- Less than high school42%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.