SalaryExplorer

SOC 47-2221 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Structural Iron and Steel Workers — Denver

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · 3 metro areas compared

$60,080 /year
$28.88per hour
480jobs in area
−4.3%vs US median

The median wage for Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Denver, CO is $60,080 per year, close to the national median of $62,780 for the same occupation.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $62,78010TH$49,850MEDIAN$60,08075TH$73,61090TH$83,430

How pay has moved

$65,993$49,6582019202020212022202320242025$60,080
$52,380 in 2019 to $60,080 in 2025, +14.7% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+4.4%
Openings per year
5,500
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Apprenticeship

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Denver, CO is $60,080 per year, close to the national median of $62,780 for the same occupation. Pay ranges from under $49,850 at the tenth percentile to more than $83,430 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $53,500 to $73,610.

Employment stands at 480, or 0.3 jobs per thousand held locally. Fort Collins leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $62,670. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 392nd of 648 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$49,850−20.6%
25th$53,500−14.8%
Median (50th)$60,080−4.3%
75th$73,610+17.3%
90th$83,430+32.9%
Mean$63,290+0.8%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Colorado

Median annual wage for Structural Iron and Steel Workers, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Fort Collins$62,67060
2Greeley$59,10080
3Colorado Springs$55,69070

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Denver run 5.8% above the national average, so the median of $60,080 buys what $56,786 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 9.5% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$60,080as reported by BLS

Local price level

105.8US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$56,786US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $60,080 a year, 4.3% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $49,850 to $83,430 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 480 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Fort Collins, at $62,670.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Denver, CO?

The median annual wage is $60,080, or $28.88 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $62,780, so pay in Denver, CO is 4.3% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Denver, CO earns more than $83,430 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $49,850 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Fort Collins, at $62,670 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 480 jobs in this occupation in Denver, CO. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.