Statewide pay Government data
Ironworkers in North Carolina earn a statewide median of $48,740 a year, 24% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #46 of 49 states and DC. About 2,000 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near North Carolina
See all states on the ironworker overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes ironworker pay for 4 North Carolina metros: Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro and Winston.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| DurhamNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $57,810 | $59,249 | 100 |
| GreensboroNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $49,490 | $53,292 | 170 |
| CharlotteNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $48,290 | $49,606 | 550 |
| WinstonNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $47,730 | $51,856 | 160 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for North Carolina's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks. May erect metal storage tanks and assemble prefabricated metal buildings.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,900 openings a year. Typical training: apprenticeship.
Nationally, ironworkers have 131 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.5× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often ironworkers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Getting started: registered apprenticeship Government data
Most ironworkers train through a paid apprenticeship: you work and earn under experienced pros while taking classes, and pay usually rises as you progress. 727,586 people were active registered apprentices nationwide in FY2026, up 87% since FY2016, and construction is the largest field with 290,043 of them (40%), according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Search apprenticeship openings ↗Find training programs & sponsors ↗
Official U.S. Department of Labor tools at Apprenticeship.gov. Counts: DOL Apprentices by State dashboard, FY2026 (all occupations).
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
North Carolina runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, steel erection contractors filed 756 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was contact with objects and equipment (45%).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Licensing in North Carolina Official source
The main state licensing office in North Carolina is the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors. Electrical and plumbing/HVAC have their own state boards. It can point you to the right license for ironworkers.
Official North Carolina licensing site ↗
Requirements for ironworkers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 2.5% of wage and salary workers in North Carolina were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#50 of 51 states and D.C.), and 3.1% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only ironworkers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in North Carolina
All trades in North Carolina.