Employment Data

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics includes tile and marble setters together in its salary figures for this occupation. Of the estimated 41,140 tile and marble setters employed in 2009, an estimated 1,160 of them were working in Virginia. The average income for these workers was $17.56 per hour, or $36,520 per year. In contrast, the nationwide average pay for tile setters was $20.41 per hour, or $42,450 per year.
  
  

Salary Range

• The salary range for tile setters in Virginia is very similar to the nationwide range at the lower end, but significantly different at the high end. In Virginia, the middle 80 percent of tile setters earned $10.51 to $26.70 per hour in 2009, while nationwide, the middle 80 percent were making $10.53 to $33.66 per hour. Narrowing it further, the middle 50 percent in Virginia had an hourly pay rate of $13.07 to $21.28, while the nationwide middle 50 percent range was $13.77 to $25.38.
  
  

Comparisons

• The lowest average pay for tile setters in Virginia was found in Lynchburg, at $10.95 per hour in 2009, or $22,770 per year. The average income in Roanoke for tile setters was $13.63 per hour. Tile setters in Richmond and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metro area had average pay of $16.61 per hour. Pay was significantly higher in the metro area including Arlington, Alexandria and Washington, D.C., at $21.10 per hour, or $43,880 per year.
  
  

Qualifications

• Although tile setters may not even need a high school diploma, they do need several other qualifications. As detailed by O*Net Online, tile setters must be able to use a variety of tools and have a certain level of math ability. They also must have a certain level of physical fitness, as tile setting involves bending, kneeling, crouching, crawling and lifting materials.