- The middle half earn between $23.25 and $39.69 an hour.
- Kentucky ranks 30th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Kentucky pays more than 2 of its 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 2,210 sheet metal workers on payrolls in Kentucky.
- At the state median wage, a sheet metal or HVAC business needs to bill about $121.82 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Sheet Metal Worker pay in Kentucky, 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 | $19.51 | $40,570 | $18.57 |
| 25th percentile | $23.25 | $48,350 | $22.99 |
| Median | $29.17 | $60,680 | $29.71 |
| 75th percentile | $39.69 | $82,550 | $39.24 |
| 90th percentile | $41.01 | $85,310 | $50.79 |
| Average (mean) | $30.67 | $63,790 | $32.62 |
Pay is bunched up in Kentucky. The top tenth earn $41.01 an hour or more, about 2.1 times the $19.51 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 ($19.51 against $18.57) but the ceiling is lower ($41.01 against $50.79), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $30.67, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Kentucky compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $60,680 in Kentucky against $61,800 nationally, $1,120 less.
In the state ranking, Kentucky sits 30th, between Pennsylvania ($29.52) and New Hampshire ($28.75). The range runs from $22.03 in Arkansas to $47.38 in Washington.
Against its neighboring states, Kentucky is in the middle: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and West Virginia pay more, and Tennessee and Virginia pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Kentucky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $29.17 | $60,680 | |
| Illinois | $41.65 | $86,630 | +$12.48 an hour |
| Indiana | $30.79 | $64,040 | +$1.62 an hour |
| Missouri | $30.56 | $63,560 | +$1.39 an hour |
| Ohio | $35.96 | $74,790 | +$6.79 an hour |
| Tennessee | $28.45 | $59,170 | −$0.72 an hour |
| Virginia | $25.10 | $52,220 | −$4.07 an hour |
| West Virginia | $34.81 | $72,390 | +$5.64 an hour |
How many sheet metal workers work in Kentucky
About 2,210 sheet metal workers work on payrolls in Kentucky, 1.8% of the 119,770 nationwide, the 22nd 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 Kentucky, 1.4 times the national share.
What a sheet metal or HVAC business in Kentucky should charge
Say you run a sheet metal or HVAC business in Kentucky and pay the state median of $29.17 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on 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 | $29.17 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $65,315 |
| Break-even rate | ($65,315 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $103.54 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $103.54 ÷ 0.85 | $121.82 |
That is $121.82 per billable hour, 4.2 times the wage, and almost the same as the $122.76 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $39.69 in Kentucky, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $140.29.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $23.25, the rate only drops to $111.42.
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.