Rebar Workers in the Austin area earn a median of $50,270 a year, 12% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #19 of 24 U.S. metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Houston and Dallas.
Austin scorecard for rebar workers Our calculation
Grades compare Austin with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($56,835).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Austin Our calculation
Prices in the Austin area run 2% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $51,261 would in a typical place, ranking #18 of 23 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. 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.
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.
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).
Highest-paying TX metros for rebar workers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| BeaumontTEXAS · TX | $60,320 | $66,988 | 200 |
| HoustonTEXAS · TX | $51,860 | $52,581 | 1,500 |
| DallasTEXAS · TX | $50,910 | $49,384 | 760 |
| AustinTEXAS · TX | $50,270 | $51,261 | 330 |
| El PasoTEXAS · TX | $46,470 | $51,684 | 50 |
See every metro in Texas.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Austin area's unemployment rate was 3.5% in 2025 (all workers, not just rebar workers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 4.2% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Austin area is 28 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 19% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 62% drive alone, 1% take transit and 23% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Austin are down 46% from 2021 to 2025 (50,907 → 27,322).
In 2025 the Austin area approved permits for 27,322 new homes (14,810 single-family), or 11.3 per 1,000 residents, ranking #22 of 393 metros, among the busiest building markets in the country.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 3,674 one-person businesses (no employees) in foundation, framing & exterior work, averaging $105,805 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 884 foundation, framing & exterior work companies that have employees (about 9,822 workers in total). 62% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $50,270 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
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 Austin with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.