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

Sheet metal workers in Washington State earn a median of $98,550 a year, which works out to roughly $47.38 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That puts Washington well above the national average for this trade, driven by heavy commercial and industrial construction activity in the Puget Sound corridor and beyond.

The pay spread is wide. At the 25th percentile — typically workers in the early years of their career or in lower-demand regions of the state — annual earnings come in at $72,220, or about $34.72 an hour. Workers at the 75th percentile, usually those with a decade or more of experience or specialized skills, pull in $134,590 a year, roughly $64.71 an hour. That's a gap of more than $62,000 between the bottom and top quartiles, which tells you that experience, specialty, and geography carry serious weight in this trade.

Most sheet metal workers in Washington start through a registered apprenticeship, typically a five-year program that blends on-the-job training with classroom instruction in layout, fabrication, HVAC duct systems, architectural metalwork, and welding. Apprentice wages scale up as you log hours and pass skills assessments. By the time you reach journeyman status, you're positioned to earn at or above the median. A journeyman who moves into foreman or general foreman roles, or picks up certifications in specialty areas like welding or building automation, is the profile that gets to the 75th percentile range.

Washington's geography shapes pay in real ways. The Seattle–Bellevue–Tacoma metro is the densest concentration of commercial construction in the state, and sheet metal work on high-rise HVAC systems, data centers, and industrial facilities in that corridor tends to pay at the higher end of the range. Workers in Spokane, Yakima, or the Tri-Cities area often see rates closer to the median or below, reflecting lower project volume and construction costs. If maximizing income is the priority, the west side of the Cascades — particularly King and Snohomish counties — is where demand is strongest.

Overtime is a real factor in this trade. Sheet metal installation on commercial projects runs on tight schedules, and it's common for workers to log 50-plus-hour weeks during peak construction season, typically spring through fall. A journeyman earning $47.38 straight-time who works 200 hours of overtime in a year adds roughly $14,200 to their base pay at time-and-a-half, pushing total annual compensation well above the stated median.

The BLS OEWS figures here represent base wages and salaries. They do not capture employer contributions to health insurance, pension or retirement plans, or other benefits that are common in this trade. Your total compensation package can be meaningfully higher than the wage number alone suggests.

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

Specialty certifications are one of the clearest levers for moving up the pay scale. Welding certifications (AWS D1.1, D1.3), EPA 608 refrigerant handling certification, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) skills for fabrication coordination are all valued by contractors and can justify a higher hourly rate during negotiation or when moving to a new employer. Workers who can run a crew or manage layout on complex jobs — industrial exhaust systems, cleanroom ductwork, architectural panels — tend to land at the top of the range.

Washington does not require a statewide journeyman license specifically for sheet metal workers, but apprenticeship completion is effectively the recognized standard for journeyman-level pay. Some contractors also require OSHA 30-hour cards for foremen and above. Staying current on safety credentials keeps you competitive for the better-paying commercial and industrial jobs.

The data here comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, published May 2025. It covers employees in Washington State across all sectors and establishment sizes. Self-employed sheet metal contractors are not included in these figures.