Sheet Metal Workers Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 47-2211 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Is this a competitive Sheet Metal Workers salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
How Sheet Metal Workers pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Median pay for this role rose 1.5% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 3.3% wage growth of Manufacturing (BLS ECI).
Manufacturing is running a 3.7% job-openings rate with quits at 1.5% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 3.4% to 3.7% over the past quarter.
Top earners (P90) make about 2.7 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is wider than typical, so expect large pay differences by experience, employer size, and geography; build generous ranges and differentiate strongly.
- Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings eased to 3.7%, with nondurable goods driving the pullback. Quits steady at 1.5%.
- Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: sector wages growing 3.3% per year, holding steady.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
The national median salary for Sheet Metal Workers is $61,797 per year ($29.71/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $47,819 and $81,619 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $105,643 per year. There are approximately 119,770 sheet metal workers employed in the United States.
About This Role
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
Career Outlook
About This Data
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
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