Do ironworkers make more in Appleton or Minneapolis?

Minneapolis pays more: the median is $93,960 in Appleton and $97,810 in Minneapolis, a 4% difference.

Ironworker salary in Appleton, WI

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Ironworkers in the Appleton, WI area earn a median of $93,960 a year, or $45.17 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $93,960. Across all of Wisconsin, the median is $92,820, so Appleton pays 1% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$93,960

Bottom 10% under$60,700Top 10% over$93,960

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $29.18/hr
Jobs in this area: 80
After cost of living: $101,670
Median hourly pay: $45.17/hr
vs U.S. median: +50%
vs Wisconsin median: +1%
Mean (average) pay: $84,590 a year · $40.67 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 11540, Appleton, WI). 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 Appleton, WI 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	$29.18	$60,700
25th percentile	$37.25	$77,480
Median (50th)	$45.17	$93,960
75th percentile	$45.17	$93,960
90th percentile	$45.17	$93,960

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

How Appleton, WI compares

Appleton ranks 4th of 5 Wisconsin metro areas for ironworker pay.
Ironworkers are more concentrated in the Appleton area than nationally: 0.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.5 times the U.S. share.

Other Wisconsin metro areas

Other trades in Appleton, WI

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

Questions

Do ironworkers make more in Appleton or Minneapolis?: Minneapolis pays more: the median is $93,960 in Appleton and $97,810 in Minneapolis, a 4% 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 11540 (Appleton, WI). 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 (92.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures