- The middle half earn between $23.78 and $36.58 an hour.
- Iowa ranks 15th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Iowa pays more than 3 of its 6 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,650 sheet metal workers on payrolls in Iowa.
- At the state median wage, a sheet metal or HVAC business needs to bill about $126.70 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Sheet Metal Worker pay in Iowa, 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 | $21.04 | $43,770 | $18.57 |
| 25th percentile | $23.78 | $49,470 | $22.99 |
| Median | $31.95 | $66,460 | $29.71 |
| 75th percentile | $36.58 | $76,080 | $39.24 |
| 90th percentile | $43.97 | $91,450 | $50.79 |
| Average (mean) | $31.48 | $65,480 | $32.62 |
Pay is bunched up in Iowa. The top tenth earn $43.97 an hour or more, about 2.1 times the $21.04 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 ($21.04 against $18.57) but the ceiling is lower ($43.97 against $50.79), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average wage ($31.48) is a little under the median, so the low end of the range stretches further than the high end in Iowa.
How Iowa compares with other states
Over a full year, the Iowa median of $66,460 is $4,660 more than the national $61,800.
In the state ranking, Iowa sits 15th, between West Virginia ($34.81) and Oklahoma ($31.56). The range runs from $22.03 in Arkansas to $47.38 in Washington.
Against its neighboring states, Iowa is in the middle: Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin pay more, and Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Iowa. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many sheet metal workers work in Iowa
About 1,650 sheet metal workers work on payrolls in Iowa, 1.4% of the 119,770 nationwide, the 29th largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in Iowa, 1.4 times the national share.
What a sheet metal or HVAC business in Iowa should charge
Higher wages in Iowa go straight into the price. Take a sheet metal or HVAC business in Iowa paying the state median of $31.95 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its 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 | $31.95 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $71,540 |
| Break-even rate | ($71,540 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $107.69 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $107.69 ÷ 0.85 | $126.70 |
That is $126.70 per billable hour, 4 times the wage, and $3.93 more than the $122.76 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $36.58 in Iowa, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $134.83.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $23.78, the rate only drops to $112.35.
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.