Sheet Metal Workers in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,160
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$20,390
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,996
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$98,550
Kept after tax
$78,160
Worth in national money
$71,996
State rank
1
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Washington is one of the better-paying states for sheet metal workers. The middle earner takes $98,550, which ranks 1 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 59.47% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Sheet metal workers ranks 131 among 493 occupations Washington publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $98,550 the take-home is $78,160. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $71,996 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $101,200, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington ranks 1 of 50 states publishing a median for sheet metal workers, at $98,550 — about 59.47% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 131 of 493 in Washington places sheet metal workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $78,160 for sheet metal workers, from $98,550. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $71,996. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $101,200 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Sheet Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $149,260 |
| This salary | $98,550 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Washington | $78,160 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,160 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,436 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $98,550 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,653 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of sheet metal workers in Washington earn under $98,550 and half over. The published range runs $57,650 at the tenth percentile to $149,260 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Washington's $78,160, worked from $98,550. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 131 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,996 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 131.
- Figures are distribution medians for sheet metal workers in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $57,650 to $149,260; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Washington take-home of $78,160, on $98,550 for work ranking 131 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 131 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,996, worked from $98,550, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Washington address, on work sitting at 131 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $57,650 and the top tenth $149,260 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $71,996 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $78,160 survives, because Washington levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($57,650) and the ninetieth ($149,260) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $71,996 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $78,160 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.