Construction & Extraction
Sheet Metal Workers
SOC 47-2211
Fabricate and install ductwork and metal building components.
The job
Median pay
$62k
$48k to $82k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing
+2.5% projected
Openings a year
10k
BLS projection
Typical education
Apprenticeship
Our model
AI displacement risk
Low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
8/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
8th pct
More exposed than 8% of occupations · modeled estimate · 18th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
55/100
Key skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Mathematics
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 9,540 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $54k |
| California | 8,390 | 0.5 | 0.6× | $77k |
| Florida | 8,040 | 0.8 | 1.1× | $50k |
| New York | 6,570 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $74k |
| Indiana | 4,580 | 1.4 | 1.9× | $64k |
| Virginia | 4,520 | 1.1 | 1.4× | $52k |
| Ohio | 4,180 | 0.8 | 1.0× | $75k |
| Michigan | 4,000 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $64k |
| Georgia | 3,590 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $57k |
| Washington | 3,440 | 1.0 | 1.3× | $99k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 3,260 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $87k |
| Pennsylvania | 3,260 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $61k |
| Oregon | 3,250 | 1.7 | 2.1× | $74k |
| Wisconsin | 3,180 | 1.1 | 1.4× | $78k |
| Arizona | 3,060 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $50k |
| Minnesota | 2,980 | 1.0 | 1.3× | $73k |
| Massachusetts | 2,890 | 0.8 | 1.0× | $82k |
| Oklahoma | 2,820 | 1.7 | 2.1× | $66k |
| New Jersey | 2,790 | 0.7 | 0.8× | $93k |
| North Carolina | 2,780 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $51k |
| Missouri | 2,640 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $64k |
| Kentucky | 2,210 | 1.1 | 1.4× | $61k |
| Maryland | 1,940 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $63k |
| Tennessee | 1,850 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $59k |
| Utah | 1,810 | 1.0 | 1.4× | $63k |
| Kansas | 1,730 | 1.2 | 1.6× | $63k |
| South Carolina | 1,710 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $50k |
| Colorado | 1,660 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $58k |
| Iowa | 1,650 | 1.1 | 1.4× | $66k |
| Connecticut | 1,480 | 0.9 | 1.1× | $79k |
| Alabama | 1,450 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $48k |
| Idaho | 1,290 | 1.5 | 1.9× | $46k |
| Nevada | 1,270 | 0.8 | 1.1× | $47k |
| Mississippi | 1,260 | 1.1 | 1.4× | $50k |
| Arkansas | 1,230 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $46k |
| Louisiana | 1,080 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $50k |
| Maine | 830 | 1.3 | 1.7× | $62k |
| New Hampshire | 760 | 1.1 | 1.4× | $60k |
| New Mexico | 640 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $57k |
| West Virginia | 540 | 0.8 | 1.0× | $72k |
| Hawaii | 490 | 0.8 | 1.0× | $96k |
| Delaware | 440 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $61k |
| Nebraska | 440 | 0.4 | 0.6× | $64k |
| Montana | 410 | 0.8 | 1.0× | $61k |
| Rhode Island | 370 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $65k |
| Vermont | 370 | 1.2 | 1.6× | $58k |
| South Dakota | 320 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $48k |
| North Dakota | 290 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $65k |
| Alaska | 240 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $95k |
| Washington DC | 238 | 0.3 | 0.4× | $73k~ |
| Wyoming | 160 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $59k |
Top metro areas
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ6,080 jobs · $77k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX2,890 jobs · $56k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX2,610 jobs · $52k median
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ2,550 jobs · $51k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA2,440 jobs · $73k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN2,430 jobs · $95k median
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI2,340 jobs · $73k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH2,330 jobs · $83k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Sheet Metal Workers interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.