How much does 1200 sq ft of drywall cost in San Francisco, CA?
| Typical total$3.07 per ft² of board | $3,689 |
|---|---|
| Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this | $2,459 – $5,764 |
| Labor portion65% of the job — this is the part that moves by city | $2,398 |
| Material portion35% — bought at national prices | $1,291 |
| Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers pay near San Franciscoabout $44/hr · San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro | $91,080/yr |
| U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-2081 | $63,600/yr |
| Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs +43.2% against the U.S. mean | +$809 |
Notes
- Where the number comes from. The national price for hanging, taping and finishing drywall is $2.40 per ft² of board — drywall installation pricing published for 2026, $1.60–$3.75 per ft² including materials. Labor is about 65% of that. Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers near San Francisco, CA average $91,080 a year against a U.S. mean of $63,600 — a factor of 1.432 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, SOC 47-2081.
- Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
- What is in the price: board, screws, tape, three coats of compound to a level 4 finish, sanding, and labor.
- What is not: primer and paint, texture, level 5 finish, and hauling the old board away. These are the lines that turn a $3,689 quote into a $4,611 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
- Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a per-unit average.
hanging, taping and finishing drywall in San Francisco, CA
$3,689 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $2,459 and $5,764.
That is $809 more than the same job priced at the national average.
Why the city changes the number
About 65% of this job is labor — $2,398 of the $3,689 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers near San Francisco average $91,080 a year, against a U.S. mean of $63,600. That is a factor of 1.432, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, SOC 47-2081.
What the quote should include
The lines that turn a quote into an invoice
Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $3,689 and something a quarter higher.
Use it as a bid check, not a quote
This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.
If a bid lands outside $2,459 – $5,764, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.
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Read more
- Drywall Installation Cost by State — From BLS Installer PayDrywall has the widest state spread of any trade priced here except painting — 1.78x — and the reason is that hanging and finishing is almost entirely hours.
- 8 ft or 12 ft Drywall — the Butt Joint Count Is the Whole ArgumentTwelve-foot board on an eight-foot wall can eliminate butt joints entirely. It also weighs seventy pounds and does not go round a stairwell.
- Cost to Drywall a Room by Size: Six Rooms Priced Line by LineRooms are quoted by floor area and built by wall area, and the two scale differently. A room twice the floor size needs far less than twice the drywall.
- DIY Drywall or Hire It Out: The Real Saving, Tools and Calendar IncludedThe material-versus-quote gap looks enormous. Subtract the tools, the rental and the fact that finishing is a skill, and the honest saving is smaller and still worth having.