- The middle half earn between $24.00 and $46.21 an hour.
- New York ranks 11th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- New York pays more than 2 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 6,570 sheet metal workers on payrolls in New York.
- At the state median wage, a sheet metal or HVAC business needs to bill about $132.86 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Sheet Metal Worker pay in New York, 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 | $19.39 | $40,330 | $18.57 |
| 25th percentile | $24.00 | $49,920 | $22.99 |
| Median | $35.46 | $73,760 | $29.71 |
| 75th percentile | $46.21 | $96,120 | $39.24 |
| 90th percentile | $60.62 | $126,090 | $50.79 |
| Average (mean) | $37.14 | $77,240 | $32.62 |
Pay spreads out a lot in New York. The bottom tenth earn $19.39 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $60.62 or more, a gap of 3.1 times against 2.7 nationally. Where a sheet metal worker sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $19.39 against $18.57 at the bottom tenth, and $60.62 against $50.79 at the top.
The average, $37.14, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How New York compares with other states
Over a full year, the New York median of $73,760 is $11,960 more than the national $61,800.
In the state ranking, New York sits 11th, between Ohio ($35.96) and Minnesota ($35.08). Oregon has exactly the same median, $35.46, so the two share that place. The range runs from $22.03 in Arkansas to $47.38 in Washington.
Against its neighboring states, New York is in the middle: Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey pay more, and Pennsylvania and Vermont pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in New York. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $35.46 | $73,760 | |
| Connecticut | $37.86 | $78,750 | +$2.40 an hour |
| Massachusetts | $39.47 | $82,100 | +$4.01 an hour |
| New Jersey | $44.64 | $92,840 | +$9.18 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $29.52 | $61,400 | −$5.94 an hour |
| Vermont | $28.00 | $58,250 | −$7.46 an hour |
How many sheet metal workers work in New York
BLS estimates 6,570 sheet metal workers on payrolls in New York, 5.5% of the 119,770 nationwide. Only 3 states have more.
That is 0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in New York, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a sheet metal or HVAC business in New York should charge
Higher wages in New York go straight into the price. Take a sheet metal or HVAC business in New York paying the state median of $35.46 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 | $35.46 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $79,399 |
| Break-even rate | ($79,399 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $112.93 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $112.93 ÷ 0.85 | $132.86 |
That is $132.86 per billable hour, 3.7 times the wage, and $10.10 more than the $122.76 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $46.21 in New York, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $151.74.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $24.00, the rate only drops to $112.74.
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.