Construction and Extraction Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 47-2211

Sheet Metal Workers

The published band from $38,630 to $105,650 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Sheet Metal Workers: First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers ($80K) , Brickmasons and Blockmasons ($62K) , Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas ($68K) , Tapers ($68K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Sheet Metal Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 47-2211 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Inspect individual parts, assemblies, or installations, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, scales, or micrometers
  2. 2. Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary
  3. 3. Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems
  4. 4. Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components int…
  5. 5. Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation
  6. 6. Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in s…
  7. 7. Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices
  8. 8. Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squa…
  9. 9. Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills
  10. 10. Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or writt…
  11. 11. Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation
  12. 12. Convert blueprints into shop drawings to be followed in the construction or assembly of sheet metal products

Sheet Metal Workers: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 47-2211 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 3.1 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 3.1
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 3.1
  3. 3. Monitoring 3.1
  4. 4. Coordination 3.1
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.0
  6. 6. Speaking 3.0
  7. 7. Mathematics 3.0
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 4.2
  2. 2. Building and Construction 3.8
  3. 3. Mathematics 3.8
  4. 4. Design 3.6
  5. 5. English Language 3.4
  6. 6. Administration and Management 3.1
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$38,630 to $105,650
median $61,800 · ~2.7× spread
$62K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
10,600
Annual openings
119,770
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
Highest-pay peer · $80K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Sheet Metal Workers

1. Washington $98,550
2. California $76,590
3. Connecticut $78,750
4. Alaska $94,600
5. Illinois $86,630
6. New Jersey $92,840
7. Hawaii $96,350
8. Ohio $74,790
9. Wisconsin $77,760
10. Massachusetts $82,100

Other Construction and Extraction Occupations titles

  1. 1. Brickmasons and Blockmasons $62,120
  2. 2. Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas $67,890
  3. 3. Tapers $68,270
  4. 4. Terrazzo Workers and Finishers $76,170
  5. 5. First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers $79,920
  6. 6. Pile Driver Operators $73,300

The OEWS band for Sheet Metal Workers runs from $38,630 (10th) to $105,650 (90th), about 2.7× wide, with median $61,800. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 10,600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Washington at $98,550. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers at $79,920. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Sheet Metal Workers pay-rank #18 in Construction and Extraction Occupations

Among 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations with a published OEWS median, Sheet Metal Workers is pay-rank #18, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Sheet Metal Workers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Sheet Metal Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 47-2211

Washington · top state for Sheet Metal Workers

$99K published median

California · #2 state pay

$77K · behind Washington

First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers

Highest-pay peer vs Sheet Metal Workers · $80K

Brickmasons and Blockmasons

Lower-pay peer beside Sheet Metal Workers · $62K

Compare Sheet Metal Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Sheet Metal Workers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Construction and Extraction Occupations titles sit near Sheet Metal Workers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Sheet Metal Workers is pay-rank #18 of 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Continuous Mining Machine Operators ($62K), Brickmasons and Blockmasons ($62K), Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters ($61K), Structural Iron and Steel Workers ($63K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do sheet metal workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Sheet Metal Workers. Leading ones include: Inspect individual parts, assemblies, or installations, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, scales, or micrometers; Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary; Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems; Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components int…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for sheet metal workers? ▼
For SOC 47-2211, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (3.1), Critical Thinking (3.1), Monitoring (3.1), Coordination (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Building and Construction, Mathematics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Sheet Metal Workers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $38,630 and the 90th at $105,650 for Sheet Metal Workers (2.7× spread). The national median is $61,800. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Sheet Metal Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Sheet Metal Workers is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 10,600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Sheet Metal Workers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Sheet Metal Workers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Sheet Metal Workers? ▼
Washington ($98,550), California ($76,590), Connecticut ($78,750) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Sheet Metal Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 47-2211. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Sheet Metal Workers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics