Stonemasons
Also called: Mason, Stone Derrickman, Stone Setter, StonemasonBuild stone structures, such as piers, walls, and abutments. Lay walks, curbstones, or special types of masonry for vats, tanks, and floors.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 16 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 5.4% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 6.6% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 12.8 hires for every 10 job openings in construction, which employs about 89% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.12.8 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $42,210 | $27,920 to $43,960 | 90 |
| Arizona | $42,130 | $32,000 to $59,000 | 270 |
| California | $60,930 | $49,740 to $76,860 | 1,250 |
| Colorado | $49,630 | $44,500 to $58,400 | 240 |
| Florida | $58,980 | $48,910 to $69,480 | not published |
| Indiana | $45,870 | $39,990 to $53,960 | 140 |
| Kansas | $57,550 | $47,580 to $67,140 | 90 |
| Maine | $60,980 | $51,590 to $61,950 | 230 |
| Maryland | $44,280 | $42,080 to $47,360 | 250 |
| Massachusetts | $69,610 | $60,140 to $83,200 | not published |
| Michigan | $59,160 | $56,240 to $64,600 | 130 |
| Minnesota | $60,510 | $45,500 to $80,470 | not published |
| Mississippi | $40,700 | $39,300 to $45,780 | 60 |
| Missouri | $43,880 | $37,440 to $44,200 | 200 |
| Montana | $61,040 | $58,750 to $72,800 | 160 |
| Nevada | $79,600 | $57,780 to $79,620 | 220 |
| New Hampshire | $57,600 | $48,620 to $63,320 | 40 |
| New Jersey | $66,210 | $57,400 to $74,570 | not published |
| New York | $46,980 | $42,210 to $53,320 | not published |
| North Carolina | $52,760 | $49,570 to $53,060 | not published |
| Ohio | $48,820 | $42,140 to $63,440 | 150 |
| Oklahoma | $40,930 | $37,440 to $41,760 | not published |
| Pennsylvania | $59,060 | $44,240 to $89,640 | 160 |
| Rhode Island | $62,510 | $37,870 to $62,510 | not published |
| Tennessee | $46,830 | $40,120 to $50,080 | 140 |
| Texas | $45,790 | $38,400 to $55,490 | 420 |
| Utah | $49,260 | $38,300 to $52,940 | not published |
| Vermont | $65,950 | $51,910 to $89,110 | 80 |
| Virginia | $48,550 | $45,720 to $50,260 | not published |
| Washington | $78,010 | $57,200 to $109,280 | 350 |
| Wisconsin | $82,740 | $62,170 to $85,340 | 70 |
Nationally: $57,390. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on none of its 16 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern. | Not published |
| Not much | Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines. | Not published |
| Not much | Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean excess mortar or grout from surface of marble, stone, or monument, using sponge, brush, water, or acid. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix mortar or grout and pour or spread mortar or grout on marble slabs, stone, or foundation. | Not published |
See all 16 tasks
| Not much | Shape, trim, face and cut marble or stone preparatory to setting, using power saws, cutting equipment, and hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Smooth, polish, and bevel surfaces, using hand tools and power tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Replace broken or missing masonry units in walls or floors. | Not published |
| Not much | Construct and install prefabricated masonry units. | Not published |
| Not much | Drill holes in marble or ornamental stone and anchor brackets in holes. | Not published |
| Not much | Repair cracked or chipped areas of stone or marble, using blowtorch and mastic, and remove rough or defective spots from concrete, using power grinder or chisel and hammer. | Not published |
| Not much | Lay brick to build shells of chimneys and smokestacks or to line or reline industrial furnaces, kilns, boilers and similar installations. | Not published |
| Not much | Dig trench for foundation of monument, using pick and shovel. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove sections of monument from truck bed, and guide stone onto foundation, using skids, hoist, or truck crane. | Not published |
| Not much | Position mold along guidelines of wall, press mold in place, and remove mold and paper from wall. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 16 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 16 tasks fall under 12 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cut materials | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Apply decorative finishes | |||
| Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections | |||
| Perform general construction or extraction activities | |||
| Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions |
Show all 12 activities
| Position tools or equipment | |||
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Drill holes in earth or materials | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for stonemasons specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 1,970 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 16%
- 2 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 9%
- 3 Mechanical Engineers Very high +11.2% 4%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers Moderate +5.0% 3%
- 5 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General Low +4.2% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 1,392 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 15%
- 2 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 7%
- 3 Machinists Moderate +1.0% 6%
- 4 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 4%
- 5 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 35% less than high school
- 44% high school
- 14% some college
- 3% associate's
- 3% bachelor's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons” · 1,145 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons”
1 program: Mason/Masonry.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 2 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (MONUMENT SETTER (Const); STONEMASON). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Stonemasons” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/47-2022.00