Career Atlas USA

Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall

Median salary
$49,120
Average salary
$54,740
Employment
44,440
Projected growth
3.8% growth
Annual openings
3,400
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential

What Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall Do

Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
3.5%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Building and Constructionimportance 3.4/5
  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.0/5
  • Mechanicalimportance 3.0/5
  • English Languageimportance 2.9/5
  • Administration and Managementimportance 2.8/5
  • Transportationimportance 2.6/5
  • Mathematicsimportance 2.5/5
  • Public Safety and Securityimportance 2.5/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Spend Time Standing4.6/5
  • Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection4.3/5
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls4.3/5
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.2/5
  • Exposed to Contaminants4.1/5
  • Time Pressure4.0/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Operation and Controlimportance 3.0/5
  • Coordinationimportance 2.9/5
  • Operations Monitoringimportance 2.9/5
  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.8/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.8/5
  • Time Managementimportance 2.8/5
  • Persuasionimportance 2.6/5
  • Quality Control Analysisimportance 2.6/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Other Software Used

  • CMSN FieldPAK
  • Comput-Ability Mechanical Insulation Key Estimator
  • North American Insulation Manufacturers Association NAIMA 3E Plus
  • Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Dependability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Cautiousness
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Integrity
  • Perseverance
  • Achievement Orientation

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • RealisticHigh
  • ConventionalMedium
  • InvestigativeLow
  • ArtisticLow
  • SocialLow
  • EnterprisingLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Baton Rouge, LA9.36× national avg
  2. 2Kennewick-Richland, WA7.55× national avg
  3. 3Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA6.14× national avg
  4. 4Helena, MT5.04× national avg
  5. 5Sioux City, IA-NE-SD4.24× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →