Ironworker salary
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Ironworkers in the U.S. earn a median of $62,780 a year, or $30.18 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $108,260 a year.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $21.43/hr
- Jobs nationwide
- 68,380
- Median hourly pay
- $30.18/hr
Apprentice, journeyman and top ironworker pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $44,580–$49,880$21.43–$23.98/hr | |
| Journeyman | $62,780$30.18/hr | |
| Top earners | $82,660–$108,260$39.74–$52.05/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
Pay over time
The median ironworker wage in the U.S. rose 7.2%, from $58,550 in May 2021 to $62,780 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 10.2%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $58,550 | $28.15/hr |
| May 2022 | $60,500 | $29.09/hr |
| May 2023 | $62,760 | $30.17/hr |
| May 2024 | $62,700 | $30.14/hr |
| May 2025 | $62,780 | $30.18/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How it compares
- The 90th-percentile wage, $108,260, is 2.4 times the 10th-percentile wage, $44,580: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Ironworker pay by state
- Massachusetts$120,840
- New Jersey$113,220
- Washington$107,660
- Illinois$101,850
- Hawaii$99,860
- Rhode Island$98,320
- Oregon$96,050
- Minnesota$95,320
- Wisconsin$92,820
- New York$92,610
See all 50 states and DC
- Pennsylvania$82,970
- North Dakota$82,120
- Missouri$77,410
- Iowa$77,400
- Alaska$76,970
- California$76,370
- Ohio$74,710
- Idaho$72,750
- West Virginia$71,850
- Maryland$71,730
- Indiana$70,130
- Louisiana$68,830
- Montana$67,390
- Nebraska$65,470
- Kentucky$64,060
- Michigan$62,830
- Nevada$62,510
- Connecticut$62,400
- Maine$61,750
- District of Columbia$61,240
- Virginia$60,260
- New Hampshire$59,920
- Delaware$59,820
- Arizona$59,390
- Colorado$58,830
- Kansas$58,560
- Utah$58,250
- South Dakota$57,050
- Tennessee$56,750
- Alabama$56,640
- Florida$55,700
- Vermont$55,640
- Texas$52,240
- South Carolina$50,750
- Mississippi$50,690
- North Carolina$48,740
- Georgia$48,090
- Oklahoma$47,660
- Wyoming$47,480
- Arkansas$45,510
Top-paying metro areas
- Boston–Cambridge–NewtonMA-NH$120,840
- Trenton–PrincetonNJ$116,360
- Seattle–Tacoma–BellevueWA$111,440
- San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa ClaraCA$109,440
- VallejoCA$106,900
- Philadelphia–Camden–WilmingtonPA-NJ-DE-MD$103,330
- Chicago–Naperville–ElginIL-IN$102,350
- New York–Newark–Jersey CityNY-NJ$102,060
- RockfordIL$100,290
- Providence–WarwickRI-MA$98,320
See the top 20
Every metro area ranked by ironworker pay after cost of living
Other trades in the U.S.
Questions
- How much do ironworkers make?
- Ironworkers in the U.S. earn a median of $62,780 a year, or $30.18 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $108,260 a year.
- How much do ironworkers make an hour in the U.S.?
- The median hourly wage is $30.18. The middle half earn between $23.98 and $39.74 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice ironworkers make in the U.S.?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $21.43 an hour ($44,580 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.98.
- Has ironworker pay gone up?
- The median ironworker wage in the U.S. rose 7.2%, from $58,550 in May 2021 to $62,780 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 10.2%. (BLS wage data and Consumer Price Index.)
- How much does a journeyman ironworker make?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $62,780 a year ($30.18 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $82,660–$108,260.
- Which state pays ironworkers the most?
- Massachusetts, with a median of $120,840 a year, followed by New Jersey ($113,220). Arkansas has the lowest median, $45,510.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 47-2221 (Structural Iron and Steel Workers). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed ironworkers and business owners aren't included. Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures