Sheet Metal Workers in the New York area earn a median of $76,730 a year, 25% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #50 of 273 U.S. metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Bridgeport and Hartford, but less in Kiryas Joel.
New York scorecard for sheet metal workers Our calculation
Grades compare New York 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 ($61,460).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in New York Our calculation
Prices in the New York area run 13% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $68,166 would in a typical place, ranking #104 of 272 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 sheet metal workers do
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
- Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
- Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
- Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
- Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, sheet metal worker jobs are projected to grow 2.5% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 9,800 openings a year. About 8% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, sheet metal workers have 163 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.9× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is falls, slips and trips.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying NY metros for sheet metal workers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glens FallsNEW YORK · NY | $78,220 | $82,453 | 40 |
| New YorkNEW YORK · NY | $76,730 | $68,166 | 6,080 |
| BuffaloNEW YORK · NY | $72,580 | $75,727 | 440 |
| KingstonNEW YORK · NY | $67,750 | $67,273 | 50 |
| AlbanyNEW YORK · NY | $66,370 | $66,659 | 280 |
| SyracuseNEW YORK · NY | $63,870 | $66,711 | 190 |
| RochesterNEW YORK · NY | $63,710 | $65,657 | 510 |
| BinghamtonNEW YORK · NY | $63,600 | $68,488 | 90 |
| Kiryas JoelNEW YORK · NY | $63,160 | $57,721 | 170 |
| UticaNEW YORK · NY | $56,500 | $60,964 | 40 |
See every metro in New York.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The New York area's unemployment rate was 4.8% in 2025 (all workers, not just sheet metal workers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 7.6% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the New York area is 36 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 34% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 44% drive alone, 27% take transit and 13% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in New York are down 22% from 2021 to 2025 (56,661 → 44,444).
In 2025 the New York area approved permits for 44,444 new homes (10,477 single-family), or 2.2 per 1,000 residents, ranking #280 of 393 metros.
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 $76,730 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 sheet metal worker pricing & estimate templates →Compare New York 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.
The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for sheet metal workers as a separate industry, so that section is left out.