Do ironworkers make more in Peoria or Chicago?

Chicago pays more: the median is $80,060 in Peoria and $102,350 in Chicago, a 22% difference.

Ironworker salary in Peoria, IL

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Ironworkers in the Peoria, IL area earn a median of $80,060 a year, or $38.49 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $98,320. That's 21% less than the Illinois median of $101,850.

Median yearly pay$80,060

Bottom 10% under$63,470Top 10% over$98,320

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $30.51/hr
Jobs in this area: 90
After cost of living: $87,760
Median hourly pay: $38.49/hr
vs U.S. median: +28%
vs Illinois median: −21%
Mean (average) pay: $81,890 a year · $39.37 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 37900, Peoria, IL). Excludes self-employed ironworkers. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What ironworkers in Peoria, IL 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	$30.51	$63,470
25th percentile	$36.69	$76,310
Median (50th)	$38.49	$80,060
75th percentile	$46.75	$97,250
90th percentile	$47.27	$98,320

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How Peoria, IL compares

Peoria ranks 6th of 8 Illinois metro areas for ironworker pay.
Ironworkers are more concentrated in the Peoria area than nationally: 0.5 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Illinois metro areas

Other trades in Peoria, IL

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic Roofer Millwright

Questions

Do ironworkers make more in Peoria or Chicago?: Chicago pays more: the median is $80,060 in Peoria and $102,350 in Chicago, a 22% difference.

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 37900 (Peoria, IL). 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 (91.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures