How much do sheet metal workers make in Michigan in 2026?

The median sheet metal worker in Michigan earns $64,490 a year, which works out to about $31.00 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of Michigan's sheet metal workers earn more, half earn less. If you're sizing up where you stand or planning a move into this trade, that number is your benchmark.

The spread across the pay range is wide. Workers at the 25th percentile — think early-career or lower-wage markets — bring in $48,680 annually, roughly $23.40 an hour. Workers at the 75th percentile pull $86,690, or about $41.68 an hour. That's nearly an $18 per hour difference between the lower and upper quartile. In practical terms, the choices you make about where you work, who you work for, and what skills you add will determine which end of that range you land on. The numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025.

Sheet metal work in Michigan spans a broad set of sectors. HVAC fabrication and installation, commercial roofing, industrial ductwork, and architectural sheet metal on building exteriors all fall under this trade. Workers who can move between those sectors — or who develop specialty skills like welding, precision layout, or CNC plasma cutting — tend to command wages above the median. Employers in industrial manufacturing corridors, particularly around Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids, often pay more than smaller residential contractors in rural areas simply because the scale and complexity of the work is greater.

Geography within Michigan matters. The Detroit metro area and the suburban counties around it (Oakland, Macomb, Wayne) concentrate the highest-paying commercial and industrial work in the state. Grand Rapids is a strong secondary market with significant commercial construction activity. Upper Peninsula workers may find fewer large commercial projects available, which can put downward pressure on wages even for experienced hands. If maximizing pay is the goal, positioning yourself in a metro market and building a specialty is the most reliable path.

Overtime is a real factor in this trade. Michigan's construction calendar compresses a lot of work into spring through fall, and sheet metal workers on large commercial projects regularly log 50- to 60-hour weeks during peak periods. At a base rate of $31.00 an hour, a single overtime hour pays $46.50. A worker who consistently lands on busy commercial crews and captures regular overtime can push their actual annual earnings well above the BLS median figure, which reflects base straight-time wages and may not fully account for overtime, shift differentials, or per diem on travel jobs.

Apprenticeship is the standard entry path. A typical sheet metal apprenticeship runs four to five years and combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction in blueprint reading, geometry, and fabrication techniques. Apprentices start at a fraction of journeyworker scale and receive incremental raises as they advance. Completing an apprenticeship and holding journeyworker status is what positions workers to move toward the 75th percentile and beyond. Some workers may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates.

To move your pay up from wherever you start, the levers are straightforward: log your apprenticeship hours and finish on time, pick up welding certifications (AWS D1.1 and D1.3 are relevant), learn to read and execute detailed shop drawings, and make yourself useful on complex projects that other workers avoid. Supervisory roles — foreman, general foreman, project superintendent — add another layer of earning potential on top of field pay. Michigan's commercial construction pipeline has consistently supported demand for experienced sheet metal workers, making skill investment here a reasonable bet.