SalariesWhat the occupation covers
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
Official definition from the Standard Occupational Classification, code 47-2211.
The pay range
Pay differs a lot inside one occupation, with experience, employer and place. The table shows where the lines fall.
| Share of workers | A year | A month* | A week* | An hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest 10% earn less than | $38,630 | $3,219 | $743 | $18.57 |
| Lowest 25% earn less than | $47,830 | $3,986 | $920 | $22.99 |
| Median (half earn less, half more) | $61,800 | $5,150 | $1,188 | $29.71 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $81,610 | $6,801 | $1,569 | $39.24 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $105,650 | $8,804 | $2,032 | $50.79 |
* Month and week are the yearly figure divided by 12 and by 52, worked out here for convenience. BLS publishes the yearly and hourly figures.
How it compares
The median for all occupations in the United States was $50,980 a year. The median for Sheet Metal Workers is $61,800, which is 21% higher. Among the 60 occupations of the field Construction and Extraction, it ranks number 18 by median pay. With 119,770 jobs, it makes up about 7.7 of every 10,000 jobs in the country.
Sheet Metal Workers pay by state
The highest median pay was in Washington ($98,550), Hawaii ($96,350) and Alaska ($94,600). The lowest was in Puerto Rico ($28,340), Guam ($37,770) and Arkansas ($45,820). The most jobs were in Texas (9,540), California (8,390) and Florida (8,040). The occupation is most concentrated in Guam, where its share of all jobs is 2.7 times the national share.
No state matches.
| State | Jobs | Median a year | Average a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 3,440 | $98,550 | $101,200 | $47.38 |
| Hawaii | 490 | $96,350 | $91,310 | $46.32 |
| Alaska | 240 | $94,600 | $83,980 | $45.48 |
| New Jersey | 2,790 | $92,840 | $88,620 | $44.64 |
| Illinois | 3,260 | $86,630 | $81,960 | $41.65 |
| Massachusetts | 2,890 | $82,100 | $78,900 | $39.47 |
| Connecticut | 1,480 | $78,750 | $74,720 | $37.86 |
| Wisconsin | 3,180 | $77,760 | $76,130 | $37.38 |
| California | 8,390 | $76,590 | $85,580 | $36.82 |
| Ohio | 4,180 | $74,790 | $68,810 | $35.96 |
| New York | 6,570 | $73,760 | $77,240 | $35.46 |
| Oregon | 3,250 | $73,750 | $80,290 | $35.46 |
| Minnesota | 2,980 | $72,970 | $78,420 | $35.08 |
| West Virginia | 540 | $72,390 | $61,250 | $34.81 |
| Iowa | 1,650 | $66,460 | $65,480 | $31.95 |
| Oklahoma | 2,820 | $65,640 | $63,510 | $31.56 |
| North Dakota | 290 | $65,180 | $66,540 | $31.34 |
| Rhode Island | 370 | $65,100 | $64,060 | $31.30 |
| Michigan | 4,000 | $64,490 | $68,100 | $31.01 |
| Nebraska | 440 | $64,440 | $67,250 | $30.98 |
| Indiana | 4,580 | $64,040 | $70,030 | $30.79 |
| Missouri | 2,640 | $63,560 | $71,050 | $30.56 |
| Utah | 1,810 | $63,140 | $63,690 | $30.36 |
| Kansas | 1,730 | $62,670 | $68,590 | $30.13 |
| Maryland | 1,940 | $62,560 | $64,410 | $30.08 |
| Maine | 830 | $62,120 | $61,830 | $29.87 |
| Delaware | 440 | $61,460 | $61,140 | $29.55 |
| Montana | 410 | $61,420 | $64,660 | $29.53 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,260 | $61,400 | $72,910 | $29.52 |
| Kentucky | 2,210 | $60,680 | $63,790 | $29.17 |
| New Hampshire | 760 | $59,800 | $59,190 | $28.75 |
| Tennessee | 1,850 | $59,170 | $59,390 | $28.45 |
| Wyoming | 160 | $58,740 | $60,080 | $28.24 |
| Vermont | 370 | $58,250 | $59,740 | $28.00 |
| Colorado | 1,660 | $57,880 | $60,390 | $27.83 |
| Georgia | 3,590 | $56,800 | $58,010 | $27.31 |
| New Mexico | 640 | $56,720 | $59,950 | $27.27 |
| Texas | 9,540 | $54,240 | $56,500 | $26.08 |
| Virginia | 4,520 | $52,220 | $55,090 | $25.10 |
| North Carolina | 2,780 | $50,730 | $54,560 | $24.39 |
| Louisiana | 1,080 | $50,320 | $52,960 | $24.19 |
| Arizona | 3,060 | $50,260 | $56,480 | $24.16 |
| South Carolina | 1,710 | $49,920 | $53,200 | $24.00 |
| Florida | 8,040 | $49,640 | $53,120 | $23.87 |
| Mississippi | 1,260 | $49,500 | $52,190 | $23.80 |
| South Dakota | 320 | $47,800 | $54,140 | $22.98 |
| Alabama | 1,450 | $47,530 | $51,190 | $22.85 |
| Nevada | 1,270 | $46,730 | $64,490 | $22.47 |
| Idaho | 1,290 | $46,350 | $55,090 | $22.29 |
| Arkansas | 1,230 | $45,820 | $45,800 | $22.03 |
| Guam | 140 | $37,770 | $39,030 | $18.16 |
| Puerto Rico | 210 | $28,340 | $28,120 | $13.63 |
Sorted by median pay, highest first. "Not published" means BLS did not release that figure for the state, usually because too few employers were surveyed. "$239,200 or more" is the highest value BLS reports in the state tables.
Similar occupations by pay
- Structural Iron and Steel Workers$62,780 a year
- Brickmasons and Blockmasons$62,120 a year
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators$61,810 a year
- Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters$61,390 a year
- Carpenters$60,580 a year
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas$60,190 a year
Common questions
How much do Sheet Metal Workers earn in the United States?
The median pay was $61,800 a year in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $38,630 and the highest-paid 10% more than $105,650.
How many people work as Sheet Metal Workers?
About 119,770 jobs in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Checked in November 2026. Figures are for employees, before tax, and leave out overtime pay and benefits. They are official statistics, not advice or a pay offer; see bls.gov/oes for the original tables.