How much do ironworkers make in Illinois in 2026?

The median ironworker in Illinois earns $101,850 a year, which works out to roughly $48.97 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That puts Illinois ironworkers well above many other trades in the state and reflects the physical demands, height work, and specialized skill the job requires.

Pay spreads wide across experience levels. Workers at the 25th percentile — newer journeyworkers or those in lower-paying regions of the state — earn around $81,750 a year, or about $39.30 an hour. At the 75th percentile, experienced ironworkers with strong foreman or supervisory credentials bring in $120,640 a year, roughly $58.00 an hour. That $38,890 gap between the bottom and top quartile is a direct signal that experience, specialization, and job type move the needle significantly.

Chicago and the surrounding metro area drive a substantial share of the state's ironworker employment. Large commercial and infrastructure projects — high-rise steel erection, bridge work, stadiums, transit infrastructure — are concentrated in the northeast corner of the state. Workers based in or willing to travel into the Chicago metro tend to access the higher end of that pay range more consistently than those in downstate markets like Peoria, Springfield, or the Quad Cities, where project volume is lower and schedules can be less steady.

Ironworking in Illinois is not a year-round steady-paycheck trade the way some indoor work is. Steel erection and structural work slow down in hard winter. Many workers supplement base pay through overtime during peak construction season, typically spring through late fall. A worker at the median rate who logs 200 hours of overtime at 1.5x pay adds roughly $14,691 to annual earnings — pushing total compensation well past $116,000. Overtime availability depends heavily on project load and employer, but on large commercial and infrastructure jobs, extended hours are common during the push to meet deadlines.

Ironworker work in Illinois covers several distinct specialties: structural and ornamental ironwork, reinforcing (rebar), rigging and machinery moving, and pile driving. Rebar specialists on major infrastructure jobs and riggers on heavy industrial projects often command rates at the upper end of the scale. Ornamental ironwork can vary more widely based on project type and contractor.

The path into the trade typically runs through an apprenticeship program, which generally lasts four to five years. Apprentices earn a percentage of journeyworker scale, starting lower and stepping up as they progress through the program. By the time a worker reaches journeyworker status, they're in a position to reach or exceed the median figure cited here. Completing a full apprenticeship — rather than coming in as an unindentured helper — almost always accelerates the path to top-quartile pay.

Some ironworkers in Illinois may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates. These figures from BLS OEWS May 2025 represent wage income and do not include the value of employer-paid benefits, pension contributions, or health insurance, which can add meaningful value to total compensation on certain jobs.

To move toward the $120,000-plus range, the most reliable levers are years of verified journeyworker experience, specialty certifications (crane signaling, rigging, welding), and willingness to travel to large metro-area projects. Workers who pick up certified welding credentials can often move into higher-margin work on pressure vessels, bridges, or industrial plants where welded connections are required. Foreman and general foreman roles, which carry supervisory pay premiums, are the typical next step for workers who have maxed out journeyworker scale and want to keep climbing.

All figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025. BLS surveys employers and reports straight-time hourly wages; it does not capture fringe benefits, per diem, or travel pay that some ironworkers receive on top of base wages.