Ironworker salary in Chicago, IL-IN
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Ironworkers in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL-IN area earn a median of $102,350 a year, or $49.21 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $124,530 a year. That's about the same as the Illinois median of $101,850.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $31.07/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 2,120
- After cost of living
- $98,800
- Median hourly pay
- $49.21/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +63%
- vs Illinois median
- 0%
Apprentice, journeyman and top ironworker pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $64,620–$83,630$31.07–$40.21/hr | |
| Journeyman | $102,350$49.21/hr | |
| Top earners | $121,760–$124,530$58.54–$59.87/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Chicago, IL-IN compares
- Chicago has the highest ironworker median of the 8 Illinois metro areas with published pay.
- Ironworkers hold about the same share of jobs in the Chicago area as nationally: 0.5 of every 1,000 jobs.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $124,530, is 1.9 times the 10th-percentile wage, $64,620: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Illinois metro areas
Other trades in Chicago, IL-IN
Questions
- How much do ironworkers make in Chicago, IL-IN?
- Ironworkers in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL-IN area earn a median of $102,350 a year, or $49.21 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $124,530 a year.
- How much do ironworkers make an hour in Chicago, IL-IN?
- The median hourly wage is $49.21. The middle half earn between $40.21 and $58.54 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice ironworkers make in Chicago, IL-IN?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $31.07 an hour ($64,620 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $40.21.
- How much does a journeyman ironworker make in Chicago, IL-IN?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $102,350 a year ($49.21 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $121,760–$124,530.
- Do ironworkers make more in Chicago or Rockford?
- Chicago pays more: the median is $102,350 in Chicago and $100,290 in Rockford, a 2% difference.
- How does Chicago pay compare with the rest of Illinois?
- The Chicago median of $102,350 is about the same as the Illinois median of $101,850.
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 16980 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN). 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 (103.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures