Drywall profit margin benchmarks
The IRS reports what one-owner businesses filing Schedule C earn, by sector. Drywall falls under Specialty trade contractors. For tax year 2023, 2,521,516 returns reported $257.8 billion in receipts, $80.4 billion in cost of sales and $40.5 billion in net income less deficit (the table gives thousands of dollars):
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 68.8% |
| Net margin, owner pay included | 15.7% |
| Average receipts per return | $102,220 |
| Average net income per return | $16,054 |
The owner's own draw is not an expense on a Schedule C, so that net margin is mostly the owner's wage, not profit on top of it.
Where the money goes in drywall
Drywall is labor heavy, with the finishing coats taking most of the hours. Small repairs cost more per square foot than new work.
Where drywall margin leaks, and how to win it back
- No minimum on small patches
- Extra trips for drying time
- Texture matching
- Dust cleanup
- Board damage in handling
Ways drywall contractors raise margin: set a minimum for small patches; price texture matching as its own line; plan drying time into the schedule; protect floors to avoid paying for damage.
Check your drywall prices against the costs
The typical national prices from our sourced calculators are a check on whether your prices leave room for margin:
| Service | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Hang and finish drywall | $2.50 | $1.50 to $3.50 a sq ft |
| Texture | $1.08 | $0.65 to $1.50 a sq ft |
| Remove old drywall | $0.56 | $0.40 to $0.73 a sq ft |
| Small hole patch | $70 | $20 to $120 a hole |
| Large hole patch | $125 | $50 to $200 a hole |
| Water damage repair | $1,075 | $600 to $1,550 a job |
Work out the margin on each line of your menu, not just the big jobs. The usual drywall menu: hang and finish drywall; texture; remove old drywall; small hole patch; large hole patch; water damage repair; ceiling crack repair; job minimum; paint after repair.
Overhead comes out of the margin before profit. In drywall it includes general liability insurance, which Insureon's customers who are drywall installers pay an average of $62 a month for; commercial auto at $299 a month on the same figures.
Work out your own margin
Put one recent drywall job into the calculator above, or switch it to "My margin for the year" to set your year next to the IRS benchmark. A 50% markup is a 33% margin; the markup calculator shows the rest.
Sources
- IRS Statistics of Income: Nonfarm sole proprietorships, Table 2, income statements by industrial sector, tax year 2023, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: SOI tax stats, nonfarm sole proprietorship statistics, checked October 9, 2026
- Insureon: Insurance cost for drywall installers, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr, drywall installation cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, drywall installation cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, drywall repair cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Bob Vila, drywall cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Thumbtack, drywall installation cost, checked October 8, 2026
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files), checked October 8, 2026
- US Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file, checked October 8, 2026
Last checked October 9, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.