How much do structural ironworkers make in 2026?
Structural ironworkers have their own BLS wage series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 47-2221 national median at $62,780 a year ($30.18 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $44,580 and the top 10% at $108,260. That top decile is high for a trade entered through apprenticeship rather than schooling, and the band reflects a clear internal structure. New ironworkers bolt up, plumb and detail steel behind the raising gang. Connectors — the ironworkers who receive and land members at height and set the first bolts — sit above them, because the work is the most exposed and least forgiving on a steel job. Welders on structural connections, riggers who plan picks, and the raising gang foreman who sequences the erection occupy the upper part of the band. Two structural factors matter for earnings. Almost all commercial steel erection is performed under union agreements, so scale plus pension, annuity and health contributions define total compensation more than posted hourly rate. And the work is weather and schedule exposed: erection seasons are intense, with long hours, and gaps between projects are real. Employment is projected to grow 4.4% through 2034 with roughly 5,500 openings a year. → Full structural ironworker career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $62,780 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Structural Ironworkers earn a national median $62,780/yr ($30.18/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-2221); the P10 to P90 range is $44,580 to $108,260.
- Structural iron and steel workers have a dedicated BLS series: a $62,780 median with a top decile of $108,260, high for a trade entered through apprenticeship.
- The internal ladder is real — bolting up and detailing at the bottom, connecting, welding and rigging above it, and the raising gang foreman at the top.
- Commercial steel erection is overwhelmingly union work, so pension, annuity and health contributions form a large part of total compensation that the wage figure alone does not show.
US Structural Ironworker Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do structural ironworkers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 47-2221; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-2221, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a structural ironworker earn at each career stage?
Ironworker pay is set by position on the crew and by the agreement you work under. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 47-2221.
By State
Which states pay structural ironworkers the most in 2026?
State figures below are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. For ironwork the dominant geographic variable is union density and local agreement scale, since commercial erection is largely union-performed: a state's negotiated rate and fringe package, plus its non-residential construction pipeline, matter far more than general cost of living.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($72,200), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay structural ironworkers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Metro premiums are genuine here because high-rise steel is a city product, and urban erection adds crane restrictions, night picks and permit-constrained schedules that raise both rate and overtime.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a structural ironworker’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does structural ironworker pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Structural Ironworkers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify structural ironworker wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a structural ironworker actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Structural Ironworker Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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