How much do sheet metal workers make in South Carolina in 2026?

The median sheet metal worker in South Carolina earns $49,920 a year, or about $24.00 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of workers in the state earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or still building your skills, expect pay closer to the 25th percentile at $38,450 annually ($18.49/hr). Experienced workers with a solid book of work can land at the 75th percentile, which sits at $63,550 a year ($30.55/hr). That's a spread of more than $25,000 between the lower and upper ends, which tells you experience and specialization carry real weight in this trade.

Sheet metal work in South Carolina covers a wide range of tasks — fabricating and installing ductwork for HVAC systems, working on commercial roofing, industrial ventilation, and architectural metal. The type of work you do affects your pay. Workers who specialize in industrial or commercial HVAC installation tend to earn toward the higher end of the scale. Residential installers, particularly those doing straightforward duct installs, often start closer to the bottom quartile. If you can weld, read blueprints, and handle both fabrication and field installation, employers will pay more for that combination.

Geography within South Carolina plays a role too. The Charlotte-Rock Hill metro spillover into York County, the greater Columbia market, and the Charleston coastal corridor tend to support higher wages than rural counties in the Pee Dee or Lowcountry regions. Commercial construction activity drives demand in Greenville and Spartanburg, where manufacturing expansion has kept sheet metal workers busy. If you're willing to drive to where the big commercial and industrial jobs are, you can push your earnings above the state median without necessarily relocating.

Overtime is a meaningful part of total compensation in this trade. Commercial and industrial construction projects frequently run tight schedules, and sheet metal workers with the right certifications are often the first called when a job needs to catch up. Even modest overtime — say, 5 to 10 extra hours a week over several months — can add $5,000 to $8,000 to your annual take-home at standard time-and-a-half rates.

Apprenticeship is the standard entry path. A formal four- or five-year program combines on-the-job hours with classroom instruction covering layout, fabrication, welding, and HVAC systems. Pay during an apprenticeship starts well below the median — typically a percentage of journeyworker scale that increases each year — but the credential you earn at the end directly affects what employers will offer you. South Carolina does not require a statewide license for sheet metal workers the way some states do for mechanical contractors, but individual counties and municipalities may have their own requirements for certain installations, so it pays to check local rules before taking a job in a new area.

Some workers in this trade may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates.

To move your pay toward or above that $63,550 top-quartile mark, focus on adding skills that are harder to find. EPA 608 certification for refrigerant handling, proficiency with plasma cutters and CNC equipment, and experience reading complex mechanical drawings all make you more valuable. Foreman and lead roles add supervisory pay on top of your base rate. Workers who cross-train into light structural steel or specialty architectural metal fabrication often find they can negotiate higher wages because the pool of people who can do that work is smaller.

The BLS OEWS figures used here are based on May 2025 survey data and represent wages paid to employees. They do not capture self-employed contractors, per diem or travel pay, or non-wage benefits like health insurance and retirement contributions — all of which can add meaningfully to your total compensation picture. Use the percentile figures as a benchmark, not a ceiling.