TradeSalary

Ironworker salary in Cedar Rapids, IA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Ironworkers in the Cedar Rapids, IA area earn a median of $75,380 a year, or $36.24 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $77,410 a year. Statewide, ironworkers earn a median of $77,400; Cedar Rapids is 3% below it.

Median yearly pay$75,380
Bottom 10% under$53,730Top 10% over$77,410
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$25.83/hr
Jobs in this area
80
After cost of living
$84,730
Median hourly pay
$36.24/hr
vs U.S. median
+20%
vs Iowa median
−3%
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 16300, Cedar Rapids, IA). 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.

Apprentice, journeyman and top ironworker pay

StageYearly payHourly pay
Apprentice$53,730–$65,730$25.83–$31.60/hr
Journeyman$75,380$36.24/hr
Top earners$77,400–$77,410$37.21–$37.22/hr

Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.

How Cedar Rapids, IA compares

  • Cedar Rapids ranks 4th of 5 Iowa metro areas for ironworker pay.
  • Ironworkers are more concentrated in the Cedar Rapids area than nationally: 0.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.4 times the U.S. share.
  • The 90th-percentile wage, $77,410, is 1.4 times the 10th-percentile wage, $53,730: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Iowa metro areas

Other trades in Cedar Rapids, IA

Questions

How much do ironworkers make in Cedar Rapids, IA?
Ironworkers in the Cedar Rapids, IA area earn a median of $75,380 a year, or $36.24 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $77,410 a year.
How much do ironworkers make an hour in Cedar Rapids, IA?
The median hourly wage is $36.24. The middle half earn between $31.60 and $37.21 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice ironworkers make in Cedar Rapids, IA?
BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $25.83 an hour ($53,730 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $31.60.
How much does a journeyman ironworker make in Cedar Rapids, IA?
BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $75,380 a year ($36.24 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $77,400–$77,410.
Do ironworkers make more in Cedar Rapids or Davenport?
Davenport pays more: the median is $75,380 in Cedar Rapids and $79,090 in Davenport, a 5% difference.
How does Cedar Rapids pay compare with the rest of Iowa?
The Cedar Rapids median of $75,380 is 3% less than the Iowa median of $77,400.

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 16300 (Cedar Rapids, IA). 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 (89.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures