ironworker salary in Austin, TX

Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Austin earn a median $28.84 per hour and $59,980 per year, according to BLS OEWS May 2025. Compare local wage ranges, pay history, and job offers below.

Two ironworkers on a steel framework, bolting structural beams high above the ground

$28.84/hr

Median hourly pay

Median annual pay$59,980

BLS OEWS May 2025 · Data updated October 2026

$22.41/hr10th percentile$37.29/hr90th percentile

Median marker. Shaded band: middle 50% of wages.

ironworker hourly wage range in Austin

$22.41/hr10th percentile$37.29/hr90th percentile

Median marker. Shaded band: middle 50% of wages.

Published hourly wage percentiles
PercentileHourly pay
10th percentile$22.41/hr
25th percentile$24.01/hr
Median$28.84/hr
75th percentile$31.87/hr
90th percentile$37.29/hr

The median is the middle wage. Half earn less. Half earn more.

Compare an offer+15.4% since May 2024

$29.02/hr

Mean hourly pay

$60,360

Mean annual pay

710

Jobs in Austin

Structural Iron and Steel Workers pay trend in Austin, 2015 to 2025

Published median hourly pay from 2015 to 2025.

+72.2% since May 2015

$10$20$3020152016201720182019202020212022202320242025$16.75May 2015: $16.75/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$18.05May 2016: $18.05/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$19.50May 2017: $19.50/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$21.57May 2018: $21.57/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$23.57May 2019: $23.57/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$27.12May 2020: $27.12/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$22.71May 2021: $22.71/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$22.74May 2022: $22.74/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$24.37May 2023: $24.37/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$25.00May 2024: $25.00/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025$28.84May 2025: $28.84/hr median, BLS OEWS May 2025

Dashed markers are years BLS didn’t publish this combination. Shown as gaps, never interpolated.

Living costs, take-home pay, and benefits

Adjusted pay

Cost-of-living adjusted pay

$29.41/hr

The BLS OEWS May 2025 median for structural iron and steel workers in Austin is $28.84/hr. The BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 index for the Austin area is 98.1 (US average = 100). Divided, the pay equals $29.41/hr. That is what the pay buys against the national average cost level.

In May 2026 dollars (BLS CPI-U), the 2015 median was $23.60/hr; the 2025 median is $30.07/hr (up 27.4% after inflation).

See all 50 cities ranked by adjusted pay

BLS OEWS May 2025, adjusted with BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Official BLS figures are unchanged above.

Compare hourly pay

Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Austin, TX.

BLS OEWS May 2025 · Data updated October 2026

Take-home pay for Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Austin

The BLS OEWS May 2025 median, $28.84 per hour, becomes a paycheck. Estimated after federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA.

Gross annual pay · $28.84/hr × 2,080 hrs

$59,987

Federal income tax (est.)
−$5,018
Texas income tax (est.)
$0
FICA (Social Security + Medicare) (est.)
−$4,589

Net annual take-home (est.)

$50,380

$1,938 per paycheck (biweekly, est.)

Effective tax rate 16.0%

Estimate for a single filer using the 2026 standard deduction: federal and Texas income tax computed from actual 2026 rates and brackets, plus FICA. Excludes city wage taxes (such as New York City’s and Philadelphia’s), pre-tax deductions like 401(k) and health premiums, and tax credits. Actual take-home pay varies with filing status, deductions, and hours worked.

Total compensation for Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Austin

Employers pay about $12.98 more per hour in benefits on top of the $28.84 median wage (health insurance, retirement, paid leave, and legally required costs), based on the national BLS average for this occupation group.

Estimated total compensation

≈ $41.82/hr

wages $28.84 + benefits ≈ $12.98/hr

Where the benefits go (est. $/hr)

  • Wages$28.84/hr
  • Legally required≈ $3.78/hr
  • Insurance≈ $3.41/hr
  • Retirement & savings≈ $2.12/hr
  • Paid leave≈ $1.89/hr
  • Supplemental pay≈ $1.77/hr

Estimate from BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, private industry workers: the national average benefit load for construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, applied to the median wage for this city. Actual benefits vary by employer, union status, and firm size.

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How to become an ironworker in Texas

In FY2024, Texas had 1,537 active ironworker apprentices (#2 of 51 jurisdictions) out of 10,308 nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship database. A registered apprenticeship is one paid route into the trade: on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction.

Active ironworker apprentices in Texas (statewide, FY2024)

1,537

10,308 nationwide · Texas ranks #2 of 51 jurisdictions

Jurisdictions with the most active ironworker apprentices, FY2024, top 10

  1. 01California2,947
  2. 02Texas1,537
  3. 03Ohio832
  4. 04Indiana436
  5. 05Illinois427
  6. 06Missouri408
  7. 07Michigan357
  8. 08Florida286
  9. 09Nevada265
  10. 10Pennsylvania254

Ironworker apprenticeship training

A registered ironworker apprenticeship combines paid work with classroom instruction. Employers, unions, and trade associations run programs registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency.

  1. Paid work

    Learn the trade on the job. Apprentice wages rise as skills develop.

  2. Classroom training

    Study alongside supervised work. Programs typically last several years.

  3. License requirements

    In licensed trades such as electrical and plumbing, apprenticeship hours usually count toward the state license. Requirements depend on the trade and state.

Search open programs at Apprenticeship.gov, the Department of Labor’s apprenticeship site.

Apprenticeship data sources and occupation titles

Active apprentice counts from the DOL Registered Apprenticeship, FY2024 database (RAPIDS): distinct apprentices by apprentice state (DOL defines this as the apprentice’s location; records from state apprenticeship agencies use the program’s state). Figures are statewide and are the same on every city page in the state. Occupation was not reported for 34.0% of active apprentices, so trade-level counts understate the true pipeline. DOL occupation titles counted: “STRUCTURAL STEEL WORKER (Alternate Titles: Ironworker or Structural Ironworker)”, “REINFORCING METAL WORKER (Alternate Title: Ironworker Reinforcing Concrete)”, “ORNAMENTAL IRONWORKER (Alternate Title: Architectural & Ornamental Ironworker)”, “Ironworker”, “Iron Worker”, “Iron Worker (Construction)”. U.S. Department of Labor dataset.

Union vs nonunion pay for structural iron and steel workers

Full-time union members in this occupation group have median weekly earnings of $1,561, versus $1,004 for nonunion workers: a 55.5% union wage premium, or about $557 more per week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cautions that these comparisons do not account for age, firm size, industry, or geography. These are the official national figures.

Union wage premium, 2025 (est. from national medians)

+55.5%

$1,561/week union vs $1,004/week nonunion (across all workers: +19.6%)

Median weekly earnings, full-time workers, 2025

Union members$1,561/wk
Nonunion$1,004/wk

Union wage premium by trade, ranked

  1. 01Electricians+55.5%
  2. 02Plumbers, Pipefitters & Steamfitters+55.5%
  3. 03Carpenters+55.5%
  4. 04Painters (Construction & Maintenance)+55.5%
  5. 05Roofers+55.5%
  6. 06Structural Iron and Steel Workers+55.5%
  7. 07Sheet Metal Workers+55.5%
  8. 08Brickmasons and Blockmasons+55.5%
  9. 09Glaziers+55.5%
  10. 10Heavy Equipment Operators+55.5%
  11. 11Insulation Workers+55.5%
  12. 12Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers+52.0%
  13. 13HVAC Technicians+37.8%
  14. 14Automotive Service Technicians+37.8%
  15. 15Maintenance & Repair Workers+37.8%
  16. 16Welders+22.9%

Median usual weekly earnings from the 2025 BLS Current Population Survey, union membership annual release (Table 4): full-time wage and salary workers, sole or principal job. BLS publishes union-earnings figures for the broader group “Construction and extraction occupations”; these premiums are national. All self-employed workers are excluded. 2025 is an 11-month average (October not collected during the federal shutdown).

Jobs, hiring, and industry pay

How structural iron and steel workers pay in Austin compares to the national median

Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Austin earn -4.4% less than the US median.

Austin$28.84/hr
US median$30.18/hr

Hiring demand

Job openings for structural iron and steel workers

850

Projected structural iron and steel workers openings per year in Texas, 2024 to 2034.

Nationally, BLS projects about 5,900 structural iron and steel workers openings per year from 2025 to 2035. Most come from replacement, not new jobs: about 5,700 a year as workers retire or switch occupations, versus 200 a year from growth.

Replacement5,700/yr
New jobs200/yr

National: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-2035. State: Projections Central, 2024-2034.

Monthly demand signal

Construction hiring trend

8.36M

Construction workers employed in August 2026, up 1.5% from a year earlier.

Sep 2024Aug 2026

Buildings (236)

up 1.5%

vs year earlier

Heavy and civil (237)

up 2.3%

vs year earlier

Specialty trades (238)

up 1.3%

vs year earlier

Production and nonsupervisory workers in construction averaged $39.36/hr in August 2026, up 5.0% from a year earlier. Supervisory pay is not included.

These are national construction-industry figures, not structural iron and steel workers-specific. They describe demand, not pay for this trade.

BLS Current Employment Statistics, seasonally adjusted, through August 2026. The latest month is preliminary and subject to revision.

Pay by industry

Where structural iron and steel workers earn the most

Top 8 of 31 published industries by national median hourly pay. These are national figures, not Austin pay.

Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)$56.05/hr
Facilities Support Services$45.74/hr
Machinery Manufacturing$44.46/hr
Rail Transportation$42.49/hr
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction$39.28/hr
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction$37.55/hr
Support Activities for Mining$37.07/hr
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services$35.41/hr

Industry pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Industries with suppressed BLS figures are not listed.

Related trades

Related trades to compare

Entry difficulty: Job Zone 2: very little to some preparation needed.

O*NET lists these occupations as related to structural iron and steel workers, ranked by national median pay. Each link shows the same Austin page for that trade.

Related occupations and Job Zones: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor.

Job concentration: Structural Iron and Steel Workers account for 1.25 times the national share of jobs in Austin.

Structural Iron and Steel Workers pay by city and trade: full rankings

Structural Iron and Steel Workers: compare two cities

Pick any two cities to compare structural iron and steel workers pay side by side: nominal medians, the middle-50% spread, and cost-of-living adjusted figures.

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Openings

Find structural iron and steel workers jobs in Austin

Job boards carry current openings with posted pay. Use the BLS figures above to judge whether an offer is fair.

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Worker pay reports: structural iron and steel workers in Austin

Checking for worker-submitted rates…

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Structural Iron and Steel Workers pay questions

Where does Trade Salaries get its pay data?

From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release: an employer survey covering millions of workers. Worker-submitted figures come from tradespeople who anonymously shared their pay on this site.

What is the difference between median and mean pay?

The median is the middle of the pay scale: half of structural iron and steel workers in Austin earn more, half earn less. The mean is the arithmetic average, which a few very high earners can pull upward. When comparing job offers, the median is the more useful number.

What do pay percentiles (p10, p25, p75, p90) mean?

They mark points on the pay scale. Ten percent of workers earn less than p10. A quarter earn less than p25 and a quarter earn more than p75. Ten percent earn more than p90. The p25 to p75 range covers the middle half of workers.

Has structural iron and steel workers pay in Austin changed since last year?

The median hourly pay for structural iron and steel workers in Austin is up 15.4% compared with May 2024, according to BLS OEWS. That is the official year-over-year change. The BLS publishes new wage data once a year, so this is the latest official comparison available. Worker-submitted rates, when posted, can reflect more recent conditions.

What is a location quotient?

It compares a trade's share of local jobs with its share of US jobs. The location quotient for structural iron and steel workers in Austin is 1.25. Above 1.0 means a larger share of local jobs; below 1.0 means a smaller share. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025.

How are hourly and annual pay figures related?

BLS annual figures assume full-time, year-round work: 40 hours a week times 52 weeks, or 2,080 hours. The annual number is the hourly rate multiplied by 2,080. Overtime, bonuses, and unpaid time off are not included, so actual take-home pay varies with hours worked.

How current is the pay data?

The official figures are from BLS OEWS May 2025, the latest full release. The BLS publishes new wage data once a year, usually the following spring. Worker-submitted rates update continuously as people add them, and reflect current conditions more quickly than the annual survey.

How do I submit my pay anonymously?

Use the Add your rate form. It takes about 30 seconds and asks for no name, email, or account. Your trade, city, experience, and pay are all you enter. Submissions are reviewed before they appear publicly on the matching rate pages.

How do I become an ironworker in Texas?

Through a registered apprenticeship: paid on-the-job training plus classroom instruction, typically lasting several years, with wages that rise as you learn. Texas had 1,537 active ironworker apprentices in FY2024, #2 of 51 jurisdictions (DOL). Search open programs at Apprenticeship.gov.

Do union structural iron and steel workers earn more?

Yes. In 2025, full-time union members in construction and extraction occupations earned a median of $1,561 a week versus $1,004 for nonunion workers, a +55.5% premium. These are national BLS figures; union contracts often add better benefits and overtime rules the wage figures don't capture.

How does Austin compare nationally? See the 2026 state of trade pay report: fastest-growing wages, biggest city pay premiums, and union gaps, computed from official BLS data.