Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,636
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$12,764
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,870
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$62,400
Kept after tax
$49,636
Worth in national money
$47,870
State rank
28
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Connecticut is 28 of 50 states for structural iron and steel workers, with a middle wage of $62,400. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Structural iron and steel workers ranks 260 among 482 occupations Connecticut publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $62,400 the take-home is $49,636. But Connecticut costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $47,870 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $68,500, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Connecticut ranks 28 of 50 for structural iron and steel workers at $62,400. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 260 of 482 in Connecticut places structural iron and steel 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 Connecticut income tax is $49,636 for structural iron and steel workers, from $62,400. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,870. ⚠️ 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 $68,500 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Structural Iron and Steel Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $97,760 |
| This salary | $62,400 |
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 Connecticut | $49,636 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,318 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,969 |
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 | $59,062 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,219 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 structural iron and steel workers in Connecticut earn under $62,400 and half over. The published range runs $47,810 at the tenth percentile to $97,760 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 Connecticut's $49,636, worked from $62,400. 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 260 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,870 uses one figure for the whole of Connecticut. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 260.
- Figures are distribution medians for structural iron and steel workers in Connecticut, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,810 to $97,760; 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 Connecticut take-home of $49,636, on $62,400 for work ranking 260 of 482 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 260 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,870, worked from $62,400, 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 Connecticut address, on work sitting at 260 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $68,500, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $47,810 and the top tenth $97,760 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Connecticut costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $47,870 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Connecticut adds its own income tax on top — which is why $49,636 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Connecticut is $68,500. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($47,810) and the ninetieth ($97,760) 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?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,870 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $49,636 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
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.