Ironworker salary in Nashville, TN
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Ironworkers in the Nashville–Davidson––Murfreesboro––Franklin, TN area earn a median of $61,890 a year, or $29.75 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $75,640 a year. Statewide, ironworkers earn a median of $56,750; Nashville is 9% above it.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $23.06/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 400
- After cost of living
- $64,240
- Median hourly pay
- $29.75/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −1%
- vs Tennessee median
- +9%
Apprentice, journeyman and top ironworker pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $47,960–$51,270$23.06–$24.65/hr | |
| Journeyman | $61,890$29.75/hr | |
| Top earners | $74,530–$75,640$35.83–$36.37/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Nashville, TN compares
- Nashville has the highest ironworker median of the 4 Tennessee metro areas with published pay.
- Ironworkers are less concentrated in the Nashville area than nationally: 0.4 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.83 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $75,640, is 1.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $47,960: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Tennessee metro areas
Other trades in Nashville, TN
Questions
- How much do ironworkers make in Nashville, TN?
- Ironworkers in the Nashville–Davidson––Murfreesboro––Franklin, TN area earn a median of $61,890 a year, or $29.75 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $75,640 a year.
- How much do ironworkers make an hour in Nashville, TN?
- The median hourly wage is $29.75. The middle half earn between $24.65 and $35.83 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice ironworkers make in Nashville, TN?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.06 an hour ($47,960 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $24.65.
- How much does a journeyman ironworker make in Nashville, TN?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $61,890 a year ($29.75 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $74,530–$75,640.
- Do ironworkers make more in Nashville or Chattanooga?
- Pay is about the same: the median is $61,890 in Nashville and $61,880 in Chattanooga.
- How does Nashville pay compare with the rest of Tennessee?
- The Nashville median of $61,890 is 9% more than the Tennessee median of $56,750.
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 34980 (Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN). 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 (96.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures