Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
51-2041 Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products. Shipfitters are included in “Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic” (51-4192).
National estimates for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Industry profile for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Geographic profile for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
National estimates for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 61,070 |
2.1 % |
$ 21.99 |
$ 45,730 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 14.46 |
$ 17.87 |
$ 21.87 |
$ 23.78 |
$ 29.61 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 30,090 |
$ 37,180 |
$ 45,480 |
$ 49,470 |
$ 61,590 |
Industry profile for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) |
24,180 |
5.21 |
$ 21.29 |
$ 44,270 |
| Ship and Boat Building |
5,400 |
3.74 |
$ 26.64 |
$ 55,420 |
| Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only) |
5,310 |
0.76 |
$ 21.99 |
$ 45,730 |
| Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors |
3,380 |
0.36 |
$ 22.65 |
$ 47,110 |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only) |
2,750 |
0.62 |
$ 20.47 |
$ 42,580 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
Top paying industries for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 39.18 |
$ 81,500 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
50 |
(7) |
$ 33.35 |
$ 69,360 |
| Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing |
160 |
0.04 |
$ 32.14 |
$ 66,840 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services |
50 |
0.01 |
$ 31.46 |
$ 65,440 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
90 |
(7) |
$ 28.84 |
$ 59,980 |
Geographic profile for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
7,210 |
0.59 |
1.36 |
$ 20.36 |
$ 42,340 |
| California |
4,430 |
0.27 |
0.62 |
$ 22.90 |
$ 47,640 |
| Wisconsin |
4,000 |
1.45 |
3.35 |
$ 22.76 |
$ 47,340 |
| Pennsylvania |
2,920 |
0.52 |
1.21 |
$ 21.98 |
$ 45,720 |
| Alabama |
2,580 |
1.34 |
3.09 |
$ 21.01 |
$ 43,700 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Wisconsin |
4,000 |
1.45 |
3.35 |
$ 22.76 |
$ 47,340 |
| Maine |
810 |
1.37 |
3.17 |
$ 23.73 |
$ 49,370 |
| Alabama |
2,580 |
1.34 |
3.09 |
$ 21.01 |
$ 43,700 |
| Arkansas |
1,120 |
0.94 |
2.18 |
$ 18.23 |
$ 37,920 |
| Oregon |
1,660 |
0.91 |
2.09 |
$ 24.79 |
$ 51,570 |
Top paying states for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii |
30 |
0.06 |
0.14 |
$ 32.39 |
$ 67,380 |
| Alaska |
60 |
0.21 |
0.48 |
$ 26.55 |
$ 55,230 |
| New York |
1,980 |
0.23 |
0.53 |
$ 25.83 |
$ 53,720 |
| Massachusetts |
1,170 |
0.34 |
0.79 |
$ 25.55 |
$ 53,150 |
| Maryland |
870 |
0.34 |
0.79 |
$ 25.28 |
$ 52,590 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,070 |
0.58 |
1.33 |
$ 20.62 |
$ 42,890 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,020 |
0.70 |
1.61 |
$ 21.39 |
$ 44,490 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
1,860 |
0.21 |
0.49 |
$ 27.00 |
$ 56,150 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
1,260 |
0.22 |
0.51 |
$ 22.07 |
$ 45,900 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
1,240 |
0.29 |
0.68 |
$ 23.28 |
$ 48,420 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
1,190 |
1.06 |
2.45 |
$ 26.17 |
$ 54,420 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
980 |
0.46 |
1.06 |
$ 18.28 |
$ 38,030 |
| Mobile, AL |
960 |
5.91 |
13.64 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
960 |
0.50 |
1.15 |
$ 24.36 |
$ 50,670 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
960 |
0.69 |
1.59 |
$ 25.21 |
$ 52,430 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Mobile, AL |
960 |
5.91 |
13.64 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Wausau, WI |
380 |
5.58 |
12.88 |
$ 24.66 |
$ 51,290 |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN |
550 |
4.09 |
9.44 |
$ 21.14 |
$ 43,980 |
| Niles-Benton Harbor, MI |
120 |
2.14 |
4.93 |
$ 21.64 |
$ 45,000 |
| Decatur, AL |
120 |
2.12 |
4.89 |
$ 19.62 |
$ 40,810 |
| Dothan, AL |
110 |
1.93 |
4.45 |
$ 17.20 |
$ 35,770 |
| Houma-Thibodaux, LA |
150 |
1.87 |
4.30 |
$ 22.23 |
$ 46,240 |
| Racine, WI |
130 |
1.84 |
4.24 |
$ 22.83 |
$ 47,480 |
| Gadsden, AL |
60 |
1.82 |
4.20 |
$ 15.31 |
$ 31,840 |
| Winchester, VA-WV |
110 |
1.79 |
4.13 |
$ 20.64 |
$ 42,930 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Bremerton-Silverdale, WA |
50 |
0.60 |
1.39 |
$ 28.43 |
$ 59,130 |
| Anchorage, AK |
30 |
0.20 |
0.46 |
$ 27.84 |
$ 57,900 |
| Longview, WA |
50 |
1.42 |
3.28 |
$ 27.60 |
$ 57,410 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
880 |
1.24 |
2.85 |
$ 27.52 |
$ 57,250 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage, MI |
40 |
0.29 |
0.67 |
$ 27.49 |
$ 57,190 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA |
50 |
1.03 |
2.37 |
$ 27.21 |
$ 56,590 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
1,860 |
0.21 |
0.49 |
$ 27.00 |
$ 56,150 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
600 |
0.80 |
1.85 |
$ 26.82 |
$ 55,790 |
| Leominster-Gardner, MA |
40 |
0.86 |
1.98 |
$ 26.46 |
$ 55,040 |
| Worcester, MA-CT |
80 |
0.30 |
0.69 |
$ 26.36 |
$ 54,830 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters:
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
