Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$68,547
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$27,503
28.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,457
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$96,050
Kept after tax
$68,547
Worth in national money
$65,457
State rank
7
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for structural iron and steel workers is strong here. Oregon's middle earner gets $96,050, putting the state 7 of 50 — about 52.99% ahead of the national figure.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Oregon. It ranks 110 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $96,050 the take-home is $68,547. But Oregon costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $65,457 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $89,260, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For structural iron and steel workers, Oregon sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $96,050, ranking 7 of 50 and running about 52.99% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Within Oregon, structural iron and steel workers ranks 110 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Oregon income tax is $68,547 for structural iron and steel workers, from $96,050. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $65,457. ⚠️ 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 $89,260 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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 | $52,630 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $120,860 |
| This salary | $96,050 |
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 Oregon | $68,547 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,401 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,165 |
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 | $84,886 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,186 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
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 Oregon earn under $96,050 and half over. The published range runs $52,630 at the tenth percentile to $120,860 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 Oregon's $68,547, worked from $96,050. 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 110 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,457 uses one figure for the whole of Oregon. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 110.
- Figures are distribution medians for structural iron and steel workers in Oregon, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $52,630 to $120,860; 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 Oregon take-home of $68,547, on $96,050 for work ranking 110 of 489 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 110 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,457, worked from $96,050, 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 Oregon address, on work sitting at 110 of 489 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 $89,260, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $52,630 and the top tenth $120,860, so most people doing this work in Oregon sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $65,457 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Oregon then takes its own share, leaving $68,547.
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.
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 Oregon is $89,260. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($52,630 to $120,860) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oregon rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $65,457 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 $68,547 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.