Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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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.
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 |
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:
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 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Sheet Metal Workers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Fairbanks, AK |
80 |
2.37 |
2.72 |
$ 48.63 |
$ 101,150 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA |
150 |
1.30 |
1.49 |
$ 45.64 |
$ 94,930 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,860 |
0.97 |
1.12 |
$ 45.12 |
$ 93,840 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,390 |
1.30 |
1.50 |
$ 41.71 |
$ 86,750 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA |
70 |
0.64 |
0.73 |
$ 40.73 |
$ 84,710 |
| Anchorage, AK |
200 |
1.22 |
1.40 |
$ 39.78 |
$ 82,740 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,560 |
0.70 |
0.80 |
$ 39.15 |
$ 81,440 |
| Kankakee, IL |
50 |
1.18 |
1.36 |
$ 38.70 |
$ 80,500 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
400 |
1.01 |
1.17 |
$ 38.08 |
$ 79,200 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
140 |
1.06 |
1.22 |
$ 37.81 |
$ 78,650 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Sheet Metal Workers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Sheet Metal Workers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Sheet Metal Workers:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
