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
- Mean (average) pay
- $70,280 a year · $33.79 an hour
Pay by percentile
What ironworkers in the U.S. earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $21.43 | $44,580 |
| 25th percentile | $23.98 | $49,880 |
| Median (50th) | $30.18 | $62,780 |
| 75th percentile | $39.74 | $82,660 |
| 90th percentile | $52.05 | $108,260 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
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
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
- 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.
- Which metro area pays ironworkers the most?
- The Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH area, with a median of $120,840 a year.
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