Ironworker salary in San Jose, CA
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Ironworkers in the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA area earn a median of $109,440 a year, or $52.62 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $130,590. Across all of California, the median is $76,370, so San Jose pays 43% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $27.10/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 330
- After cost of living
- $99,110
- Median hourly pay
- $52.62/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +74%
- vs California median
- +43%
Apprentice, journeyman and top ironworker pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $56,360–$71,040$27.10–$34.15/hr | |
| Journeyman | $109,440$52.62/hr | |
| Top earners | $113,670–$130,590$54.65–$62.79/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How San Jose, CA compares
- San Jose has the highest ironworker median of the 15 California metro areas with published pay.
- Ironworkers are less concentrated in the San Jose area than nationally: 0.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.67 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $130,590, is 2.3 times the 10th-percentile wage, $56,360: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other California metro areas
Other trades in San Jose, CA
Questions
- How much do ironworkers make in San Jose, CA?
- Ironworkers in the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA area earn a median of $109,440 a year, or $52.62 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $130,590.
- How much do ironworkers make an hour in San Jose, CA?
- The median hourly wage is $52.62. The middle half earn between $34.15 and $54.65 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice ironworkers make in San Jose, CA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $27.10 an hour ($56,360 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $34.15.
- How much does a journeyman ironworker make in San Jose, CA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $109,440 a year ($52.62 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $113,670–$130,590.
- Do ironworkers make more in San Jose or San Francisco?
- San Jose pays more: the median is $109,440 in San Jose and $87,340 in San Francisco, a 25% difference.
- How does San Jose pay compare with the rest of California?
- The San Jose median of $109,440 is 43% more than the California median of $76,370.
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), area code 41940 (San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed ironworkers and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (110.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures