Sheet Metal Worker Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Sheet Metal Workers earn a median of $61,800 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 21% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $29.71/hr. The middle half earn between $47,830 and $81,610. The top 10% earn $105,650 or more.

The median hourly wage for sheet metal workers is $29.71 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $61,800 annual median works out to about $5,150 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of sheet metal workers earn less than $38,630 a year and the bottom quarter less than $47,830 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

A minority do. $100,000 sits between the 75th percentile ($81,610) and the 90th ($105,650), so roughly 10% to 25% of sheet metal workers earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is Washington at $98,550.

The highest state medians for Sheet Metal Workers are Washington ($98,550), Hawaii ($96,350), Alaska ($94,600) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Alaska moves to the top at $92,420.

BLS does not split sheet metal workers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $105,650, against a median of $61,800 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Washington ($98,550), Hawaii ($96,350), Alaska ($94,600).

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Sheet Metal Workers. BLS also lists apprenticeship as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 49.0% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for sheet metal workers is a high school diploma or equivalent. Once hired, BLS lists apprenticeship as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing some preparation.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.5% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 9,800 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Sheet metal workers fabricate or install products that are made from thin metal sheets, such as ducts used in heating and air conditioning systems. A core O*NET task: select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications. Employers most often ask for Computer aided design CAD software, Office suite software, Operating system software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 28% of sheet metal workers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 72% work exactly 40 and 0% work fewer. 0% say their schedule is regular and 0% irregular, and 9% work seasonally. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Sheet Metal Workers highest on the Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 4.9% of sheet metal workers, against 47.1% of all employed people: a heavily male-dominated occupation. 21.6% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 42.3 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.