Sheet Metal Workers in the Cincinnati area earn a median of $73,690 a year, 20% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #73 of 273 metros for sheet metal worker pay nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Columbus, but less in Dayton.
It's one of 9 Ohio metros with published pay for this trade; see sheet metal workers across Ohio.
Sheet Metal Worker pay in Cincinnati at a glance
- Sheet metal workers in the Cincinnati, OH metro earn a median $73,690 a year ($35.43 an hour), #73 of 273 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $41,360 and $96,550.
- After local prices, that median buys what $77,267 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,118 a month, 18% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among sheet metal workers in Cincinnati.
Comparing two real offers with overtime and commutes? Use the job offer checker. The median here works out to about $35 an hour in yearly terms.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for sheet metal 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 higher than in most metros (4.4%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+2.7% since 2020).
Cincinnati scorecard for sheet metal workers Our calculation
Grades compare Cincinnati 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).
Pay over time
The median pay for sheet metal workers in the Cincinnati area went from $46,910 in 2020 to $73,690 in 2025, up 57.1%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's +25.3% — a real raise.
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 Cincinnati Our calculation
Prices in the Cincinnati area run 5% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $77,267 would in a typical place, ranking #60 of 272 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 monthly budget for Cincinnati from this pay, local rent and prices.
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.
What the work is like Government data
How often sheet metal 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 sheet metal 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 Cincinnati ↗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 Ohio Official source
The main state licensing office in Ohio is the Ohio Department of Commerce. Home of the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board. It can point you to the right license for sheet metal workers.
Official Ohio licensing site ↗
Requirements for sheet metal workers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
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 OH metros for sheet metal workers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ToledoOHIO · OH | $83,240 | $91,017 | 220 |
| ColumbusOHIO · OH | $77,760 | $81,451 | 760 |
| ClevelandOHIO · OH | $77,410 | $82,419 | 620 |
| MansfieldOHIO · OH | $76,930 | $86,563 | 30 |
| AkronOHIO · OH | $76,350 | $81,771 | 320 |
| CantonOHIO · OH | $75,200 | $84,111 | 120 |
| CincinnatiOHIO · OH | $73,690 | $77,267 | 910 |
| DaytonOHIO · OH | $72,330 | $78,031 | 220 |
| YoungstownOHIO · OH | $62,640 | $71,675 | 180 |
See every metro in Ohio.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Cincinnati area's unemployment rate was 4.4% in 2025 (all workers, not just sheet metal workers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 4.5% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Cincinnati area is 25 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 12% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 76% drive alone, 1% take transit and 13% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Cincinnati area's population grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025 (2,251,978 → 2,312,858), ranking #185 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +46,286) account for most of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Cincinnati
The Cincinnati area has about 978,520 homes. 54% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is older than most; 11% were built in 2010 or later. Older homes often need more repair, replacement and upgrade work. 69% of households own their home, and the median home value is $288,700.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Cincinnati are down 14% from 2021 to 2025 (8,429 → 7,264).
In 2025 the Cincinnati area approved permits for 7,264 new homes (4,311 single-family), or 3.2 per 1,000 residents, ranking #210 of 393 metros.
What new hires earn here
People newly hired into construction jobs in the Cincinnati area earn about $67,200 a year at the start, compared with $84,500 for all construction workers who've stayed with their employer. By age, construction workers 19 to 24 average about $52,200 a year here, and those 45 to 54 about $99,800. That's for every construction job combined, not just sheet metal workers, but it shows how much experience is worth here.
Census Quarterly Workforce Indicators, construction (NAICS 23), private employers, 2024 Q4–2025 Q3. Monthly earnings × 12.
Pay on public projects
On federally funded building construction in Hamilton County, the law (the Davis-Bacon Act) sets a minimum of $34.32 an hour plus $23.77 an hour in benefits (or as cash), $58.09 in all for sheet metal workers. That base rate is below the local median wage of $35.43. It comes from local union contracts.
U.S. Department of Labor wage determination OH20260082, 2026, via SAM.gov. Many states set their own prevailing wages for state and city projects.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Cincinnati area has had 11 federal major disasters, more than in 93% of metros, mostly floods and severe storms. The latest was declared in 2026 (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, And Landslides). After big storms, repair and rebuild work can pull in traveling crews; see what a travel job pays.
FEMA disaster declarations, counties in this metro, fiscal years 2016–2026. COVID-19 declarations are left out.
Traveling here for work
Out-of-town sheet metal workers on travel jobs here are often paid per diem. The federal rate is $170 a night for lodging plus $86 a day for meals, the Cincinnati rate: about $1,792 a week on top of wages. Compare a travel job here with a local one.
GSA per diem rates, FY2027 (October 2026–September 2027). Employers set their own per diem; many use the GSA rate as a guide.
Working outdoors in Cincinnati Government data
In an average year, Cincinnati has 27 days at 90°F or hotter (about typical; typical metro 33), 102 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 80 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more. Summer afternoons average 85°F and winter nights 26°F. That matters for sheet metal workers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Cincinnati Lunken Airport, OH station. Compare cities on outdoor work weather.
Where to train near Cincinnati Government data
8 schools in or near Cincinnati offer precision metal working (welding, machining, sheet metal) programs below the bachelor's level, 6 of them at public colleges. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $47,231 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Community and Technical College Florence, KY · Public | Certificate | $9,901 | 257 | $60,680 |
| Elite Welding Academy LLC Cincinnati, OH · Private for-profit | Certificate | $35,345 | 69 | $49,221 |
| Fortis College-Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH · Private for-profit | Certificate | $35,536 | 31 | $41,064 |
| Gateway Community and Technical College Florence, KY · Public | Associate degree | $9,901 | 24 | $51,075 |
| Great Oaks Career Campuses Cincinnati, OH · Public | Certificate | $13,920 | 21 | $39,697 |
| Brown & Clermont Adult Career Campuses Bethel, OH · Public | Certificate | $15,105 | 15 | — |
| Butler Technology and Career Development Schools Monroe, OH · Public | Certificate | $18,301 | 12 | $45,241 |
| Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Cincinnati, OH · Public | Certificate | $12,263 | 8 | — |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $73,690 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 sheet metal worker pricing & estimate templates →Compare Cincinnati with another city →
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ToolCincinnati budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Cincinnati 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 Cincinnati against every other metro for sheet metal workers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.
Report a data issue on this page
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.