Pick a trade and state to see real hourly rates.
Current BLS California employee wages for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers, SOC 47-2081; includes ceiling tile installation, excludes premium pay and benefits, and separates taping under SOC 47-2082.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.
Hiring guide · California
Recruit panel hangers with proven layout, fastening and safe-access skills.
Build the role around the panels, framing and ceiling work your project needs. California's C-9 contracting scope covers drywall assemblies, while employee hiring brings payroll and Cal/OSHA duties. Assess installation, then plan stocking, access and handover to finishers. Training contacts below offer different levels of preparation.
Candidate availability moves week to week. What does not move is the screening: the certifications below are what decide whether someone can be badged onto your site at all.
The levels are separated by what the state allows a person to do unsupervised, not by how good they are. Hiring the wrong level is the most common and most expensive mistake on a trade requisition.
Productive under supervision and cheap, but they cannot be left on a task the state licenses, and they need someone qualified with them.
Works unsupervised and can carry a helper. This is the level almost every requisition is actually describing.
Runs crews across sites, owns compliance outcomes, and where the trade allows, pulls permits and qualifies the work.
Budget $31.67 an hour for a qualified drywall installer in California, from $22.14 at entry level to $57.81 at the top. Add a quarter to a third on top for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment, and price overtime at time and a half.
See the full drywall installer salary guide →California licensing applies at $1,000, or with permits or hired workers. Employees differ from contracting businesses. Apply classification rules and provide workers' compensation, hazard instruction and controls for the installation work.
Contact apprenticeship administration, college construction staff and district employer services about recruitment and relevant installation experience.
Certificates get a candidate past the first filter. These are the questions that separate the ones who can do the work from the ones who have the paperwork, and they change by level.
Certifications listed with no issuing body or date
A licence described as 'in progress'
No supervisor anyone can call
Three or four employers inside a year
Long gaps with no explanation offered
Cards that lapsed and were never renewed
A realistic schedule for a certified drywall installer, from writing the requisition to a badged start. The screening steps are where time is actually lost.
Use these national employee figures when budgeting California installation roles across three construction settings.
Commercial partitions need installers who coordinate openings and ceiling access. Define inspection handoffs and the crew's responsibility for moving board upstairs.
Drywall subcontractors need consistent panel layout and fastening. Ask candidates how they stage materials and hand completed rooms to finishing crews.
House and apartment projects call for careful room sequencing. Assess stairway handling, clean cuts and protection of adjacent completed work.
Post a role and reach OSHA-certified candidates in your area.
© 2026 American Recruits
