Drywall Contractor Pay and Health Insurance in Alabama (2027)

Q: How much does a drywall contractor make in Alabama?

The BLS median wage for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Alabama is $46,880 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $34,900. The middle half earn $40,260 to $50,110, and the top 10% more than $58,840. BLS counts about 640 people doing this work for an employer in Alabama. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Wage benchmark and the 2027 subsidy cliff

$46,880median annual wage, Drywall Contractors in Alabama

294%of the federal poverty level

$63,8402027 subsidy cliff, single-person household

Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.

This occupation sits above the cliff in 1 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 22, so the answer changes with the state.

What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers (SOC 47-2081) in Alabama. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed drywall contractor. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.

Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. State-level annual median wage (A_MEDIAN), detailed occupation. https://www.bls.gov/oes/. Retrieved 2026-08-03. Figures used unmodified; suppressed cells are omitted, not estimated.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. 91 FR 1797, 15 January 2026. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines. Retrieved 2026-09-27. The 2026 guidelines govern premium tax credit eligibility for plan year 2027 coverage. The 2027 guidelines apply to 2028 coverage.
Full dataset for all occupations and states: CSV · JSON (CC BY 4.0).

All 23 states

Benchmark premium and median wage for this occupation, ranked by premium.

#	State	Benchmark @40	Median wage	vs cliff
1	Maryland	$491	$51,540	below
2	Indiana	$537	$52,370	below
3	Virginia	$549	$51,760	below
4	Nevada	$565	$51,290	below
5	Michigan	$595	$53,170	below
6	Ohio	$603	$59,560	below
7	Colorado	$615	$58,640	below
8	North Carolina	$660	$48,460	below
9	Oklahoma	$686	$47,490	below
10	South Carolina	$702	$44,670	below
11	South Dakota	$704	$48,280	below
12	Illinois	$707	$69,810	above
13	Alabama	$712	$46,880	below
14	Utah	$716	$50,860	below
15	Wisconsin	$720	$57,990	below
16	Georgia	$733	$53,590	below
17	Texas	$737	$50,120	below
18	Florida	$738	$46,930	below
19	Kansas	$748	$48,090	below
20	Arkansas	$757	$43,470	below
21	Nebraska	$780	$48,470	below
22	Tennessee	$796	$45,990	below
23	Mississippi	$814	$43,470	below

Questions

How much does a drywall contractor make in Alabama?

The BLS median wage for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Alabama is $46,880 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $34,900. The middle half earn $40,260 to $50,110, and the top 10% more than $58,840. BLS counts about 640 people doing this work for an employer in Alabama. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Does being a drywall contractor change what health insurance costs in Alabama?

No. Under the ACA carriers may not rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Premiums vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size, so the benchmark of $712 a month applies regardless of trade.

Do drywall contractors qualify for a subsidy in Alabama in 2027?

Premium tax credit eligibility depends on household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not occupation. For reference, the BLS median wage for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Alabama is $46,880, which is below the 2027 cliff of $63,840 for a single-person household. Your own income and household size decide the answer.

What is the benchmark premium in Alabama for 2027?

$712 a month for a 40-year-old, ranking 13 of 23 states published here. That is full price before any premium tax credit.

Where do these numbers come from?

Premiums come from the CMS Plan Year 2027 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file and published state rate approvals. Wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Both are reproduced unmodified; the full wage dataset is downloadable as CSV or JSON.

Going deeper on Alabama

This page compares states. For Alabama specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — that is published on Coverage by County. To check whether a plan actually covers your hospital, see Plans By City.

← Drywall Contractors in all states · All trades · All occupations

How Alabama compares with every other state →

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2027 coverage for drywall contractors in Alabama: the enrollment window

The 2027 plans are posted: 4 carriers across 67 Alabama counties. Carriers file county by county, so the statewide count only tells you so much.

Price, in one number: $686 a month for the median county’s benchmark Silver at 40 in 2027, up from $639 in 2026.

Insurers in Alabama were approved for an average 20.7% increase for 2027; your own premium turns on the plan and the county.

Open Enrollment runs from November 1. December 15 is the date that matters: choose by then and cover starts January 1 in Alabama and every other state.

PPOs are sold in all 67 Alabama counties for 2027 — the plan type most likely to pay toward care out of network, which matters if your work takes you around.

Worth settling before December 15

The 2027 plans are posted and the deadline for a January 1 start is December 15. Ten minutes with your ZIP code settles which plan still fits.

Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:

Whether your current plan and carrier are still selling in your county for 2027
What your income estimate should realistically be — the number your credit is calculated from
Whether the doctors you actually use are in the 2027 network, before you are locked in

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Drywall Contractors Health Insurance in Alabama