- The middle half earn between $22.60 and $33.85 an hour.
- Colorado ranks 35th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Colorado pays more than 2 of its 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,660 sheet metal workers on payrolls in Colorado.
- At the state median wage, a sheet metal or HVAC business needs to bill about $119.46 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Sheet Metal Worker pay in Colorado, bottom to top
Sheet metal workers fabricate and install ductwork, flashing, gutters and metal roofing parts, in a shop and on site.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $21.05 | $43,780 | $18.57 |
| 25th percentile | $22.60 | $47,010 | $22.99 |
| Median | $27.83 | $57,880 | $29.71 |
| 75th percentile | $33.85 | $70,400 | $39.24 |
| 90th percentile | $40.17 | $83,550 | $50.79 |
| Average (mean) | $29.04 | $60,390 | $32.62 |
Pay is bunched up in Colorado. The top tenth earn $40.17 an hour or more, about 1.9 times the $21.05 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.7 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($21.05 against $18.57) but the ceiling is lower ($40.17 against $50.79), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $29.04, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Colorado compares with other states
Over a full year, the Colorado median of $57,880 is $3,920 less than the national $61,800.
In the state ranking, Colorado sits 35th, between Vermont ($28.00) and Georgia ($27.31). The range runs from $22.03 in Arkansas to $47.38 in Washington.
Against its neighboring states, Colorado is in the middle: Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming pay more, and Arizona and New Mexico pay less.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Colorado |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | $27.83 | $57,880 | |
| Arizona | $24.16 | $50,260 | −$3.67 an hour |
| Kansas | $30.13 | $62,670 | +$2.30 an hour |
| Nebraska | $30.98 | $64,440 | +$3.15 an hour |
| New Mexico | $27.27 | $56,720 | −$0.56 an hour |
| Oklahoma | $31.56 | $65,640 | +$3.73 an hour |
| Utah | $30.36 | $63,140 | +$2.53 an hour |
| Wyoming | $28.24 | $58,740 | +$0.41 an hour |
How many sheet metal workers work in Colorado
About 1,660 sheet metal workers work on payrolls in Colorado, 1.4% of the 119,770 nationwide, the 28th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.6 per 1,000 jobs, 0.75 times the national share.
What a sheet metal or HVAC business in Colorado should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a sheet metal or HVAC business in Colorado paying the state median of $27.83, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $27.83 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $62,315 |
| Break-even rate | ($62,315 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $101.54 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $101.54 ÷ 0.85 | $119.46 |
That is $119.46 per billable hour, 4.3 times the wage, and $3.30 less than the $122.76 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $33.85 in Colorado, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $130.03.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.60, the rate only drops to $110.28.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-2211, sheet metal workers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: sheet metal worker salary by state.