Skilled Wages

Tile setter salary in Illinois

Median $32.29 an hour for 730 tile setters, May 2025, with the union scale by county, the job trend since 1999 and the state's own outlook.

$32.29/hrMedian hourly wageIllinois, May data
$67,160/yrMedian annual payfull-time equivalent
$22.44 – $54.2210th to 90th percentilehourly range
730Jobs countedemployer survey

Data compiled by Skilled WagesBLS OEWS May 2025; prevailing wage as of 2026-11-13

Tile setter pay in Illinois: the full range

Wage percentiles, IllinoisMarket wage, 10th-90th pctU.S. reference$0$20$40$60/hrIllinois: 10th $22.44 · 25th $23.20 · median $32.29 · 75th $44.83 · 90th $54.22Illinois$32.29$22.44$54.22United States: 10th $17.86 · 25th $21.73 · median $26.77 · 75th $33.76 · 90th $41.40United States$26.77
Hourly wage percentiles for tile setters: Illinois vs United States, May 2025.

Illinois ranks 7th of 47 states for median tile setter pay, and 7th once adjusted for cost of living (the cost-of-living-adjusted median is $32.29). 730 tile setters work in the state. The top 10% earn 2.4× what the bottom 10% earn.

Career stage (approximate)HourlyAnnualWhere it sits in the distribution
Apprentice / entry level$22.44 – $23.20$46,680 – $48,250roughly the 10th to 25th percentile
Journeyman$23.20 – $44.83$48,250 – $93,240the middle half, around the median
Master, foreman or specialist$44.83 – $54.22$93,240 – $112,780the 75th to 90th percentile and above

Where does your pay fall?



Tile setter pay by metro in Illinois

Ranked median wages$0$10$20$30$40/hrChicago: $35.90Chicago$35.90St. Louis: $30.60St. Louis$30.60
Median hourly wage for tile setters by metro area in Illinois, May 2025.
Metro10thMedian $/hrCost-of-living adjusted90thJobsvs state
Chicago$23.05$35.90$34.65$54.8455011% above
St. Louis$20.29$30.60$32.18$38.762805% below

Cost-of-living adjusted: median divided by the BEA regional price parity for the metro (2024, US = 100).

Tile setter wages in Illinois over time

Illinois, 1999-2025IllinoisUnited StatesSOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages$10$15$20$25$30$35200020052010201520202025$32.29Illinois$26.77United States
Median hourly wage for tile setters, Illinois vs United States, 1999–2025, nominal dollars.
Table
YearIllinois $/hrIn 2025 $US $/hrJobs
1999$22.01$42.53$17.08720
2000$21.10$39.45$16.49780
2001$22.33$40.59$17.02730
2002$26.83$48.01$17.201,010
2004$28.64$48.81$17.021,420
2005$27.60$45.50$17.561,420
2006$22.15$35.37$17.591,160
2007$26.91$41.78$18.611,350
2008$31.43$47.00$18.851,820
2009$31.16$46.76$18.831,530
2010$30.78$45.44$18.321,340
2011$22.98$32.89$17.83990
2012$25.35$35.55$17.81790
2013$27.67$38.24$18.06970
2014$23.66$32.18$18.741,020
2015$22.65$30.77$18.941,170
2016$21.54$28.89$19.451,710
2017$21.88$28.74$20.041,730
2018$22.11$28.35$20.122,100
2019$18.81$23.69$20.701,410
2020$20.61$25.64$21.26—
2021$25.49$30.29$22.99890
2022$21.88$24.07$23.241,280
2023$23.24$24.55$23.521,000
2024$25.69$26.37$25.11910
2025$32.29$32.29$26.77730

In today's dollars, the median tile setter wage in Illinois changed by +5.0% over the last ten years of data and by +36.3% since 2019.

Are there more tile setter jobs in Illinois?

0.1Jobs per 1,000 in the stateconcentration 0.5× the US share, 30th of 44 states

BLS counted 730 tile setters in Illinois in May 2025, an estimate with a relative standard error of 23%. With fewer than 3,000 jobs or a wide margin of error, year-to-year changes are within the survey's noise and are not shown as a trend.

Outlook for tile setters in Illinois

+9.1%Projected growth in Illinois2024–2034, state agency
100Openings per yeargrowth plus replacements
1,260Jobs in 20241,370 projected for 2034
+9.8%US projected growth2025-35, BLS, for comparison

Illinois's labor market agency projects the number of tile setters in the state to change by +9.1% between 2024 and 2034, from 1,260 to 1,370, with about 100 openings a year. Nationally, BLS projects +9.8% over 2025-35. State counts include the self-employed, so the base is larger than the 730 counted by the BLS employer survey.

Source: Illinois labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034 long-term projections (state projections page).

Union scale and prevailing wage for tile setters in Illinois

On federally funded construction in Illinois, contractors must pay tile setters at least the Davis-Bacon rate for the county. 102 of the 102 counties with a Building rate use a union contract rate (typical package $58.28 an hour including fringe); the rest use a survey rate (typical —). The market median for the state is $32.29.

Union contract rateSurvey rate
Union / prevailing package, $/hr, ILAdams: $58.28 (union)Alexander: $51.91 (union)Bond: $58.28 (union)Boone: $58.28 (union)Brown: $58.28 (union)Bureau: $58.28 (union)Calhoun: $58.28 (union)Carroll: $58.28 (union)Cass: $58.28 (union)Champaign: $51.91 (union)Christian: $51.91 (union)Clark: $51.91 (union)Clay: $51.91 (union)Clinton: $58.28 (union)Coles: $51.91 (union)Cook: $71.21 (union)Crawford: $51.91 (union)Cumberland: $51.91 (union)DeKalb: $58.28 (union)De Witt: $51.91 (union)Douglas: $51.91 (union)DuPage: $80.54 (union)Edgar: $51.91 (union)Edwards: $51.91 (union)Effingham: $51.91 (union)Fayette: $51.91 (union)Ford: $51.91 (union)Franklin: $51.91 (union)Fulton: $58.28 (union)Gallatin: $51.91 (union)Greene: $58.28 (union)Grundy: $80.54 (union)Hamilton: $51.91 (union)Hancock: $58.28 (union)Hardin: $51.91 (union)Henderson: $58.28 (union)Henry: $58.28 (union)Iroquois: $51.91 (union)Jackson: $51.91 (union)Jasper: $51.91 (union)Jefferson: $51.91 (union)Jersey: $58.28 (union)Jo Daviess: $58.28 (union)Johnson: $51.91 (union)Kane: $80.54 (union)Kankakee: $71.46 (union)Kendall: $80.54 (union)Knox: $58.28 (union)Lake: $80.54 (union)LaSalle: $58.28 (union)Lawrence: $51.91 (union)Lee: $58.28 (union)Livingston: $58.28 (union)Logan: $58.28 (union)McDonough: $58.28 (union)McHenry: $80.54 (union)McLean: $58.28 (union)Macon: $50.71 (union)Macoupin: $58.28 (union)Madison: $13.30 (union)Marion: $51.91 (union)Marshall: $58.28 (union)Mason: $58.28 (union)Massac: $51.91 (union)Menard: $58.28 (union)Mercer: $58.28 (union)Monroe: $58.28 (union)Montgomery: $58.28 (union)Morgan: $58.28 (union)Moultrie: $51.91 (union)Ogle: $58.28 (union)Peoria: $62.08 (union)Perry: $51.91 (union)Piatt: $51.91 (union)Pike: $58.28 (union)Pope: $51.91 (union)Pulaski: $51.91 (union)Putnam: $58.28 (union)Randolph: $58.28 (union)Richland: $51.91 (union)Rock Island: $58.28 (union)St. Clair: $13.30 (union)Saline: $51.91 (union)Sangamon: $50.71 (union)Schuyler: $58.28 (union)Scott: $58.28 (union)Shelby: $51.91 (union)Stark: $58.28 (union)Stephenson: $58.28 (union)Tazewell: $62.08 (union)Union: $51.91 (union)Vermilion: $51.91 (union)Wabash: $51.91 (union)Warren: $58.28 (union)Washington: $58.28 (union)Wayne: $51.91 (union)White: $51.91 (union)Whiteside: $58.28 (union)Will: $80.54 (union)Williamson: $51.91 (union)Winnebago: $58.28 (union)Woodford: $58.28 (union)Union / prevailing package, $/hr$51.91$58.28
Davis-Bacon base + fringe for tile setters by county, Building construction. Hatched counties use a survey rate rather than a union contract.
Market median vs prevailing wage by countyMarket medianPrevailing (union)$20$40$60$80$100/hrDuPage (Chicago): market median $35.90, prevailing (union) $80.54, gap +$44.64DuPage (Chicago)+$44.64Kankakee (Illinois): market median $32.29, prevailing (union) $71.46, gap +$39.17Kankakee (Illinois)+$39.17Bond (St. Louis): market median $30.60, prevailing (union) $58.28, gap +$27.68Bond (St. Louis)+$27.68
Market median (BLS metro wage) vs the Davis-Bacon package (base + fringe) for tile setters, metro counties in Illinois.
CountyRate sourceBaseFringeTotalDetermination
DuPageUnion BRIL0021-008 2021-06-01$49.75$30.79$80.54IL20260008
GrundyUnion BRIL0021-008 2021-06-01$49.75$30.79$80.54IL20260008
KaneUnion BRIL0021-008 2021-06-01$49.75$30.79$80.54IL20260008
KendallUnion BRIL0021-008 2021-06-01$49.75$30.79$80.54IL20260008
LakeUnion BRIL0021-008 2021-06-01$49.75$30.79$80.54IL20260008
McHenryUnion BRIL0021-008 2021-06-01$49.75$30.79$80.54IL20260008
WillUnion BRIL0021-008 2021-06-01$49.75$30.79$80.54IL20260008
KankakeeUnion BRIL0021-003 2017-06-01$44.63$26.83$71.46IL20260006
CookUnion BRIL0021-006 2017-06-01$45.49$25.72$71.21IL20260009
PeoriaUnion BRIL0006-013 2021-06-01$37.60$24.48$62.08IL20260003
TazewellUnion BRIL0006-013 2021-06-01$37.60$24.48$62.08IL20260003
AdamsUnion BRIL0006-002 2018-06-01$38.07$20.21$58.28IL20260001
BondUnion BRIL0006-002 2018-06-01$38.07$20.21$58.28IL20260001
BooneUnion BRIL0006-002 2018-06-01$38.07$20.21$58.28IL20260001
BrownUnion BRIL0006-002 2018-06-01$38.07$20.21$58.28IL20260001

Building construction type, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Residential, Heavy and Highway rates differ; look them up on the Illinois prevailing wage page. This is not the official wage determination.

Is construction work growing in Illinois?

268.8kConstruction jobsIllinois, 2026-09
+6.5%Change over 12 monthsseasonally unadjusted
Construction employment, 1990-2026150k200k250k300k350k19901995200020052010201520202025269kSep 2026
Construction employment in Illinois (thousands), construction supersector, BLS CES, not seasonally adjusted. Grey bands are recessions.

Keep comparing

Tile setter pay in neighbouring states

Other trades in Illinois

More on Illinois

Questions this page answers

How much do tile setters make in Illinois?

The median tile setter in Illinois earned $32.29 an hour ($67,160 a year) in May 2025, 21% above the national median of $26.77. The middle half earn $23.20–$44.83; the top 10% earn more than $54.22.

Where does Illinois rank for tile setter pay?

Illinois ranks 7th of 47 states for tile setter pay, with a median of $32.29 an hour, and 7th after adjusting for Illinois's cost of living (BEA price parity 100.0, US = 100).

What is the union tile setter rate in Illinois?

Davis-Bacon determinations list a union contract rate for tile setters in 102 counties, with a typical package of $58.28 an hour including fringe benefits; see the county table above.

How many tile setters work in Illinois?

BLS counted 730 tile setters in Illinois in May 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 jobs (location quotient 0.52; 1.0 is the national average concentration).

Is tile setter work growing in Illinois?

Illinois's labor market agency projects +9.1% growth for tile setters between 2024 and 2034, from 1,260 to 1,370 jobs.

How many tile setter openings a year are there in Illinois?

Illinois projects about 100 openings a year for tile setters over 2024–2034, counting both new positions and replacements for people who retire or change occupation. Nationally BLS projects about 3,300 a year.

Sources and notes

  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Illinois and metro areas, SOC 47-2044. Job counts are survey estimates and exclude the self-employed.
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics, state construction employment through 2026-09.
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages.
  • BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (cost-of-living adjustment).
  • SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Not the official determination.
  • BLS Employment Projections, national, 2025-35.
  • State projection: Illinois labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034, fetched 2026-10-05.