• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

47-2211 Sheet Metal Workers

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.

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National estimates for Sheet Metal Workers
Industry profile for Sheet Metal Workers
Geographic profile for Sheet Metal Workers

National estimates for Sheet Metal Workers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Sheet Metal Workers:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
122,630	2.2 %	$ 28.25	$ 58,760	0.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for Sheet Metal Workers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 16.56	$ 18.85	$ 25.69	$ 36.02	$ 45.68
Annual Wage (2)	$ 34,450	$ 39,200	$ 53,440	$ 74,920	$ 95,010

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Industry profile for Sheet Metal Workers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Sheet Metal Workers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Sheet Metal Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Sheet Metal Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Building Equipment Contractors	57,720	2.57	$ 30.53	$ 63,500
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)	19,280	4.15	$ 26.29	$ 54,690
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors	14,880	1.59	$ 24.87	$ 51,730
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	6,420	0.30	$ 29.55	$ 61,460
Nonresidential Building Construction	3,410	0.44	$ 23.88	$ 49,670

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Sheet Metal Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)	19,280	4.15	$ 26.29	$ 54,690
Building Equipment Contractors	57,720	2.57	$ 30.53	$ 63,500
Ship and Boat Building	2,840	1.97	$ 27.46	$ 57,110
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors	14,880	1.59	$ 24.87	$ 51,730
Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing	1,450	0.93	$ 26.86	$ 55,860

Top paying industries for Sheet Metal Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Scheduled Air Transportation	(8)	(8)	$ 46.38	$ 96,470
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	310	0.01	$ 44.91	$ 93,420
Utility System Construction	(8)	(8)	$ 44.91	$ 93,410
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	40	(7)	$ 40.59	$ 84,420
Foundries	160	0.16	$ 37.27	$ 77,520

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Geographic profile for Sheet Metal Workers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Sheet Metal Workers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Sheet Metal Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Sheet Metal Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	12,530	0.76	0.87	$ 34.14	$ 71,000
Texas	10,800	0.88	1.01	$ 23.92	$ 49,750
Florida	7,020	0.82	0.94	$ 21.68	$ 45,090
New York	6,310	0.73	0.84	$ 33.06	$ 68,770
Illinois	5,300	0.94	1.08	$ 31.65	$ 65,820

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Sheet Metal Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Oklahoma	3,140	2.02	2.32	$ 25.78	$ 53,630
Oregon	3,350	1.84	2.11	$ 31.34	$ 65,180
Indiana	4,640	1.56	1.79	$ 27.65	$ 57,500
Iowa	1,890	1.27	1.46	$ 27.35	$ 56,880
Georgia	5,240	1.20	1.38	$ 23.41	$ 48,680

Top paying states for Sheet Metal Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	310	1.03	1.19	$ 42.42	$ 88,240
Washington	3,100	0.97	1.11	$ 40.85	$ 84,960
New Jersey	2,760	0.72	0.82	$ 40.08	$ 83,360
Hawaii	470	0.86	0.99	$ 37.41	$ 77,800
District of Columbia	230	0.34	0.40	$ 35.68	$ 74,210

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Sheet Metal Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	6,220	0.72	0.82	$ 37.39	$ 77,760
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	4,090	0.97	1.11	$ 32.19	$ 66,960
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	3,700	1.03	1.18	$ 24.39	$ 50,740
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	3,150	0.55	0.63	$ 33.63	$ 69,950
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	2,750	1.06	1.22	$ 22.78	$ 47,370
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	2,680	0.92	1.06	$ 24.37	$ 50,680
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	2,490	3.51	4.03	$ 26.90	$ 55,950
Oklahoma City, OK	2,420	3.99	4.59	$ 26.30	$ 54,700
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	2,330	0.90	1.03	$ 34.29	$ 71,330
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	2,320	2.07	2.37	$ 34.06	$ 70,850

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Sheet Metal Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Elkhart-Goshen, IN	1,210	9.06	10.41	$ 28.80	$ 59,900
New Bern, NC	220	5.06	5.81	$ 29.31	$ 60,950
Oklahoma City, OK	2,420	3.99	4.59	$ 26.30	$ 54,700
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	2,490	3.51	4.03	$ 26.90	$ 55,950
Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS	460	3.17	3.64	$ 25.83	$ 53,720
St. Cloud, MN	310	3.13	3.60	$ 30.43	$ 63,300
Elmira, NY	100	3.04	3.49	$ 28.34	$ 58,950
Ogden-Clearfield, UT	810	3.00	3.44	$ 25.61	$ 53,260
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA	250	2.92	3.36	$ 31.92	$ 66,390
Fairbanks, AK	80	2.37	2.72	$ 48.63	$ 101,150