Photo by Bill Jacobus, CC BY 2.0
This is the 10th installment of Construction Junkie's weekly analysis of the hourly wages of each individual construction profession by state. The three previous professions we examined were drywall installers, roofers, and painters. You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.
Structural iron and steel workers often work from great heights when installing the structural steel and iron on buildings, bridges, and other structures. From 2016 to 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects overall employment of ironworkers to grow 13%, which is higher than the average growth rate of all industries. That's good news if you're currently and iron worker or about to become one.
With that growth assumption in mind, let's take a look at how much steel and iron workers are currently being paid in each state.
All data below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s most recent reports from May 2016.
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of an Iron & Steel Worker, by State
click for larger image
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of an Iron & Steel Worker, by State
51. North Carolina -- $17.83/hour
50. Oklahoma -- $18.49/hour
49. Georgia -- $18.66/hour
48. Nebraska -- $19.60/hour
47. South Dakota -- $19.88/hour
46. Florida -- $20.05/hour
45. Idaho -- $20.58/hour
44. Texas -- $20.58/hour
43. Utah--$20.65/hour
42. Arkansas -- $21.05/hour
41. Arizona -- $21.09/hour
40. South Carolina -- $21.18/hour
39. Mississippi -- $21.22/hour
38. Kansas -- $21.31/hour
37. Maine -- $21.40/hour
36. Tennessee -- $21.46/hour
35. Alabama -- $21.52/hour
34. Delaware -- $21.66/hour
33. Virginia -- $22.05/hour
32. Montana -- $22.49/hour
31. Wyoming -- $22.86/hour
30. Colorado -- $23.20/hour
29. West Virginia -- $23.66/hour
28. Vermont -- $23.70/hour
27. Maryland -- $24.12/hour
26. Michigan -- $24.22/hour
25. New Hampshire -- $24.53/hour
24. New Mexico -- $24.63/hour
23. Louisiana -- $24.71/hour
22. Kentucky -- $24.95/hour
21. Iowa -- $25.69/hour
20. Nevada -- $25.93/hour
19. North Dakota -- $26.05/hour
18. Indiana -- $26.20/hour
17. District of Columbia -- $27.76/hour
16. Ohio -- $27.93/hour
15. Pennsylvania -- $28.04/hour
14. Connecticut -- $28.49/hour
13. Missouri -- $29.93/hour
12. California -- $30.08/hour
11. Wisconsin -- $30.45/hour
10. Alaska -- $30.46/hour
9. Oregon -- $30.84/hour
8. Minnesota -- $32.98/hour
7. Massachusetts -- $33.82/hour
6. Rhode Island -- $34.69/hour
5. Hawaii -- $34.75/hour
4. Washington -- $35.56/hour
3. New York -- $41.29/hour
2. Illinois -- $41.66/hour
1. New Jersey -- $42.25/hour
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of an Iron & Steel Worker - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state's adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state. All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017. The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state.
click for larger image
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of an Iron and Steel Worker - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
51. Hawaii -- $11.68/hour
50. District of Columbia -- $12.94/hour
49. California -- $16.36/hour
48. Maryland -- $17.61/hour
47. North Carolina -- $18.79/hour
46. Maine -- $18.90/hour
45. South Dakota -- $19.96/hour
44. Florida -- $20.35/hour
43. Oklahoma--$20.38/hour
42. Georgia -- $20.41/hour
41. Oregon -- $21.06/hour
40. Delaware -- $21.18/hour
39. Alaska -- $21.20/hour
38. Nebraska -- $21.21/hour
37. South Carolina -- $21.48/hour
36. Virginia -- $21.56/hour
35. New Hampshire -- $21.59/hour
34. Utah -- $21.62/hour
33. Arizona -- $21.83/hour
32. Montana -- $22.33/hour
31. Idaho -- $22.37/hour
30. Texas -- $22.51/hour
29. Colorado -- $22.53/hour
28. Vermont -- $23.01/hour
27. Massachusetts -- $23.50/hour
26. Kansas -- $23.50/hour
25. Alabama -- $23.52/hour
24. Wyoming -- $23.66/hour
23. Arkansas -- $23.70/hour
22. Tennessee -- $23.73/hour
21. Connecticut -- $23.79/hour
20. Mississippi -- $24.30/hour
19. Nevada -- $24.53/hour
18. West Virginia -- $24.63/hour
17. Louisiana -- $26.04/hour
16. New Mexico -- $26.08/hour
15. North Dakota -- $26.34/hour
14. Michigan -- $26.57/hour
13. Kentucky -- $26.62/hour
12. Rhode Island -- $26.95/hour
11. Pennsylvania -- $27.59/hour
10. Iowa -- $27.77/hour
9. New York -- $28.24/hour
8. Indiana -- $28.61/hour
7. Ohio -- $30.08/hour
6. Wisconsin -- $31.24/hour
5. Washington -- $32.72/hour
4. New Jersey -- $32.74/hour
3. Missouri -- $32.95/hour
2. Minnesota -- $33.05/hour
1. Illinois -- $42.83/hour
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