Do ironworkers make more in Abilene or Austin?

Austin pays more: the median is $45,680 in Abilene and $59,980 in Austin, a 24% difference.

Ironworker salary in Abilene, TX

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Ironworkers in the Abilene, TX area earn a median of $45,680 a year, or $21.96 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $62,450 a year. Statewide, ironworkers earn a median of $52,240; Abilene is 13% below it.

Median yearly pay$45,680

Bottom 10% under$37,570Top 10% over$62,450

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $18.06/hr
Jobs in this area: 80
After cost of living: $50,550
Median hourly pay: $21.96/hr
vs U.S. median: −27%
vs Texas median: −13%
Mean (average) pay: $47,200 a year · $22.69 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 10180, Abilene, TX). 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 Abilene, TX 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	$18.06	$37,570
25th percentile	$20.42	$42,470
Median (50th)	$21.96	$45,680
75th percentile	$22.14	$46,060
90th percentile	$30.02	$62,450

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

How Abilene, TX compares

Abilene ranks 9th of 13 Texas metro areas for ironworker pay.
Ironworkers are more concentrated in the Abilene area than nationally: 1.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 2.4 times the U.S. share.

Other Texas metro areas

Other trades in Abilene, TX

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

Questions

Do ironworkers make more in Abilene or Austin?: Austin pays more: the median is $45,680 in Abilene and $59,980 in Austin, a 24% 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 10180 (Abilene, TX). 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 (90.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures