- The middle half earn between $24.78 and $37.96 an hour.
- Montana ranks 28th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Montana pays more than 3 of its 4 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 410 sheet metal workers on payrolls in Montana.
- At the state median wage, a sheet metal or HVAC business needs to bill about $122.45 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Sheet Metal Worker pay in Montana, 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 | $21.30 | $44,310 | $18.57 |
| 25th percentile | $24.78 | $51,540 | $22.99 |
| Median | $29.53 | $61,420 | $29.71 |
| 75th percentile | $37.96 | $78,970 | $39.24 |
| 90th percentile | $40.49 | $84,220 | $50.79 |
| Average (mean) | $31.09 | $64,660 | $32.62 |
Pay is bunched up in Montana. The top tenth earn $40.49 an hour or more, about 1.9 times the $21.30 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 ($21.30 against $18.57) but the ceiling is lower ($40.49 against $50.79), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $31.09, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Montana compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $61,420 in Montana against $61,800 nationally, $380 less.
In the state ranking, Montana sits 28th, between Delaware ($29.55) and Pennsylvania ($29.52). The range runs from $22.03 in Arkansas to $47.38 in Washington.
Against its neighboring states, Montana is in the middle: North Dakota pays more, and Idaho, South Dakota and Wyoming pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Montana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $29.53 | $61,420 | |
| Idaho | $22.29 | $46,350 | −$7.24 an hour |
| North Dakota | $31.34 | $65,180 | +$1.81 an hour |
| South Dakota | $22.98 | $47,800 | −$6.55 an hour |
| Wyoming | $28.24 | $58,740 | −$1.29 an hour |
How many sheet metal workers work in Montana
About 410 sheet metal workers work on payrolls in Montana, 0.3% of the 119,770 nationwide, the 44th largest count among the states.
That is 0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in Montana, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a sheet metal or HVAC business in Montana should charge
Say you run a sheet metal or HVAC business in Montana and pay the state median of $29.53 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 | $29.53 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $66,121 |
| Break-even rate | ($66,121 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $104.08 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $104.08 ÷ 0.85 | $122.45 |
That is $122.45 per billable hour, 4.1 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, $37.96 in Montana, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $137.25.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $24.78, the rate only drops to $114.11.
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.