Rebar Workers in the Baltimore area earn a median of $60,450 a year, 6% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #9 of 24 metros for rebar workers nationwide.
It's the only Maryland metro with published pay for this trade; see statewide rebar worker pay, including rural areas.
Rebar Worker pay in Baltimore at a glance
- Rebar workers in the Baltimore, MD metro earn a median $60,450 a year ($29.06 an hour), #9 of 24 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $57,360 and $73,140.
- After local prices, that median buys what $57,854 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,625 a month, 32% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for rebar workers here is above average compared with other U.S. metros, and also above average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is about the same as in most metros (3.9%) and the population is growing slowly (+0.4% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 1,528 one-person foundation, framing & exterior work businesses averaging $71,786 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $75/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Baltimore scorecard for rebar workers Our calculation
Grades compare Baltimore with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers.
Pay over time
The median pay for rebar workers in the Baltimore area went from $55,560 in 2020 to $60,450 in 2025, up 8.8%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -13.2% — a real pay cut. Some years are missing because BLS redrew or didn't publish this metro.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Baltimore Our calculation
Prices in Baltimore run 4% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $57,854 would in a typical place, ranking #9 of 23 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
Want the full picture? Build a cost-of-living budget for Baltimore from this pay, local rent and prices.
What rebar workers do
Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Position and secure steel bars, rods, cables, or mesh in concrete forms, using fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, or hand tools.
- Determine quantities, sizes, shapes, and locations of reinforcing rods from blueprints, sketches, or oral instructions.
- Space and fasten together rods in forms according to blueprints, using wire and pliers.
- Use forklifts or cranes to move construction material, such as rebar.
- Cut rods to required lengths, using metal shears, hacksaws, bar cutters, or acetylene torches.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, rebar worker jobs are projected to shrink 5.3% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 1,000 openings a year. About 18% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often rebar workers 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 rebar workers 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 near Baltimore ↗Find training programs & sponsors ↗
Official U.S. Department of Labor tools at Apprenticeship.gov. Counts: DOL Apprentices by State dashboard, FY2026 (all occupations).
Licensing in Maryland Official source
The main state licensing office in Maryland is the Maryland Department of Labor (Occupational Licensing). Home Improvement Commission and trade boards. It can point you to the right license for rebar workers.
Official Maryland licensing site ↗
Requirements for rebar workers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, rebar workers have 34 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 60% below the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Baltimore area's unemployment rate was 3.9% in 2025 (all workers, not just rebar workers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 5.0% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Baltimore area is 30 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 23% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 68% drive alone, 4% take transit and 15% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Baltimore area's population grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025 (2,847,138 → 2,857,781), ranking #282 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). More people moved out than in (net -5,728).
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Baltimore
The Baltimore area has about 1,212,112 homes. 56% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is older than most; 10% were built in 2010 or later. Older homes often need more repair, replacement and upgrade work. 67% of households own their home, and the median home value is $403,000.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Baltimore are down 26% from 2021 to 2025 (7,834 → 5,799).
In 2025 the Baltimore area approved permits for 5,799 new homes (3,606 single-family), or 2.0 per 1,000 residents, ranking #294 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 1,528 one-person businesses (no employees) in foundation, framing & exterior work, averaging $71,786 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 736 foundation, framing & exterior work companies that have employees (about 11,360 workers in total). 53% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Working outdoors in Baltimore Government data
In an average year, Baltimore has 34 days at 90°F or hotter (about typical; typical metro 33), including 1 at 100°F or more, 93 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 75 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more, and 19 inches of snow. Summer afternoons average 87°F and winter nights 27°F. That matters for rebar workers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Baltimore Wash International Airport, MD station. Compare cities on outdoor work weather.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $60,450 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get rebar worker pricing & estimate templates →Compare Baltimore with another city →
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ToolCheck an offer in BaltimoreSee where it falls among local rebar workers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolBaltimore budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Baltimore metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Baltimore against every other metro for rebar workers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.