Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers

Moderate Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

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Why it fits

Advancement path using crew coordination, concrete schedules, site safety, quality checks, and materials.

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Why it fits

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Why it fits

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Why it fits

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Painters, Construction and Maintenance
49% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Higher growth
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Why it fits

Weaker but realistic surface-finishing shift using preparation, patching, coatings, ladders, tools, and finish standards.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.7/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

55% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Developing objectives and strategies

Quite important
Why this matters
Sets long-term goals and chooses strategies and actions to reach them, weighing tradeoffs and adapting plans as conditions change.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 43 votes

35% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a higher chance of automation: 55% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers was $54,660 ($26 per hour).

The median annual wage for Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers was 10.4% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers' job openings is expected to rise 1.8% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 205,230 people employed as 'Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers' within the United States.

This represents around 0.13% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 751 people are employed as 'Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers'.

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What people are saying (2)

Gilbert Cervantes (Moderate)
16 Jun 2022 17:17
Robots are 30 years away from replacing decorative concrete or master finishers. The flatworm will be replaced first, as not a ton of skill is needed.

Lack of new apprentices will force companies to look in this direction for commercial concrete and residential pours. The stamp, stain mosaic will be difficult to replace, and the dual carpenter/finisher will either thrive or robots will take their positions.
Brandon
03 Aug 2019 23:29
I am in the concrete skateboard park industry and it will be a while before they can replace us I believe. It's a bit more of an artform than placing a sidewalk or bigbox floor. Good luck to the rest of you guys.
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Job description

Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.

O*NET-SOC code: 47-2051.00