How much do ironworkers make an hour in Trenton, NJ?

The median hourly wage is $55.94. The middle half earn between $51.23 and $55.94 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice ironworkers make in Trenton, NJ?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $48.00 an hour ($99,830 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $51.23.

How much does a journeyman ironworker make in Trenton, NJ?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $116,360 a year ($55.94 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $116,360–$122,060.

Do ironworkers make more in Trenton or Philadelphia?

Trenton pays more: the median is $116,360 in Trenton and $103,330 in Philadelphia, a 13% difference.

How does Trenton pay compare with the rest of New Jersey?

The Trenton median of $116,360 is 3% more than the New Jersey median of $113,220.

Ironworker salary in Trenton, NJ

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Ironworkers in the Trenton–Princeton, NJ area earn a median of $116,360 a year, or $55.94 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $122,060 a year. Across all of New Jersey, the median is $113,220, so Trenton pays 3% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$116,360

Bottom 10% under$99,830Top 10% over$122,060

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $48.00/hr
Jobs in this area: 70
After cost of living: $112,770
Median hourly pay: $55.94/hr
vs U.S. median: +85%
vs New Jersey median: +3%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 45940, Trenton-Princeton, NJ). 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

Stage	Yearly pay	Hourly pay
Apprentice	$99,830–$106,560$48.00–$51.23/hr
Journeyman	$116,360$55.94/hr
Top earners	$116,360–$122,060$55.94–$58.69/hr

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

How Trenton, NJ compares

Trenton has the highest ironworker median of the 6 New Jersey metro areas with published pay.
Ironworkers are less concentrated in the Trenton area than nationally: 0.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.62 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $122,060, is 1.2 times the 10th-percentile wage, $99,830: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other New Jersey metro areas

Other trades in Trenton, NJ

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

Questions

How much do ironworkers make in Trenton, NJ?: Ironworkers in the Trenton–Princeton, NJ area earn a median of $116,360 a year, or $55.94 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $122,060 a year.
How much do ironworkers make an hour in Trenton, NJ?: The median hourly wage is $55.94. The middle half earn between $51.23 and $55.94 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice ironworkers make in Trenton, NJ?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $48.00 an hour ($99,830 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $51.23.
How much does a journeyman ironworker make in Trenton, NJ?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $116,360 a year ($55.94 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $116,360–$122,060.
Do ironworkers make more in Trenton or Philadelphia?: Trenton pays more: the median is $116,360 in Trenton and $103,330 in Philadelphia, a 13% difference.
How does Trenton pay compare with the rest of New Jersey?: The Trenton median of $116,360 is 3% more than the New Jersey median of $113,220.

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 45940 (Trenton-Princeton, NJ). 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 (103.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures