Skilled Wages

Sheet metal worker salary in South Dakota

Median $22.98 an hour for 320 sheet metal workers, May 2025, with the union scale by county, the job trend since 1999 and the state's own outlook.

$22.98/hrMedian hourly wageSouth Dakota, May data
$47,800/yrMedian annual payfull-time equivalent
$18.47 – $41.7210th to 90th percentilehourly range
320Jobs countedemployer survey

Data compiled by Skilled WagesBLS OEWS May 2025; prevailing wage as of 2026-11-13

Sheet metal worker pay in South Dakota: the full range

Wage percentiles, South DakotaMarket wage, 10th-90th pctU.S. reference$10$20$30$40$50$60/hrSouth Dakota: 10th $18.47 · 25th $20.47 · median $22.98 · 75th $29.01 · 90th $41.72South Dakota$22.98$18.47$41.72United States: 10th $18.57 · 25th $22.99 · median $29.71 · 75th $39.24 · 90th $50.79United States$29.71
Hourly wage percentiles for sheet metal workers: South Dakota vs United States, May 2025.

South Dakota ranks 46th of 50 states for median sheet metal worker pay, and 41st once adjusted for cost of living (the cost-of-living-adjusted median is $25.94). 320 sheet metal workers work in the state. The top 10% earn 2.3× what the bottom 10% earn.

Career stage (approximate)HourlyAnnualWhere it sits in the distribution
Apprentice / entry level$18.47 – $20.47$38,420 – $42,580roughly the 10th to 25th percentile
Journeyman$20.47 – $29.01$42,580 – $60,330the middle half, around the median
Master, foreman or specialist$29.01 – $41.72$60,330 – $86,780the 75th to 90th percentile and above

Where does your pay fall?



Sheet metal worker pay by metro in South Dakota

Ranked median wages$0$10$20$30$40/hrSioux City: $32.38Sioux City$32.38Sioux Falls: $23.23Sioux Falls$23.23Rapid City: $21.29Rapid City$21.29
Median hourly wage for sheet metal workers by metro area in South Dakota, May 2025.
Metro10thMedian $/hrCost-of-living adjusted90thJobsvs state
Sioux City$21.38$32.38$37.43$38.645041% above
Sioux Falls$18.78$23.23$25.64$42.461701% above
Rapid City$18.05$21.29$23.87$30.80707% below

Cost-of-living adjusted: median divided by the BEA regional price parity for the metro (2024, US = 100).

Sheet metal worker wages in South Dakota over time

South Dakota, 1999-2025South DakotaUnited StatesSOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages$0$10$20$30$40200020052010201520202025$29.71United States$22.98South Dakota
Median hourly wage for sheet metal workers, South Dakota vs United States, 1999–2025, nominal dollars.
Table
YearSouth Dakota $/hrIn 2025 $US $/hrJobs
1999$10.58$20.45$14.09440
2000$11.96$22.36$15.31350
2001$12.07$21.94$15.97390
2002$12.28$21.98$16.62410
2003$11.84$20.72$16.83400
2004$12.39$21.12$17.09470
2005$12.11$19.96$17.50400
2006$12.99$20.74$17.96650
2007$13.18$20.46$18.85520
2008$13.60$20.34$19.37540
2009$12.24$18.37$19.54410
2010——$20.05520
2011$19.55$27.98$20.55420
2012$22.79$31.96$20.81410
2013$16.81$23.23$21.10470
2014$16.67$22.67$21.67530
2015$17.43$23.68$21.99540
2016$17.23$23.11$22.57430
2017$18.07$23.73$23.07400
2018$19.04$24.41$23.30330
2019$21.97$27.67$24.23240
2020$23.29$28.97$24.70190
2021$22.47$26.70$25.69120
2022$21.43$23.57$26.61310
2023$22.68$23.96$28.26530
2024$23.94$24.57$29.26540
2025$22.98$22.98$29.71320

In today's dollars, the median sheet metal worker wage in South Dakota changed by -2.9% over the last ten years of data and by -16.9% since 2019.

Are there more sheet metal worker jobs in South Dakota?

0.7Jobs per 1,000 in the stateconcentration 0.9× the US share, 36th of 50 states

BLS counted 320 sheet metal workers in South Dakota in May 2025, an estimate with a relative standard error of 22%. With fewer than 3,000 jobs or a wide margin of error, year-to-year changes are within the survey's noise and are not shown as a trend.

Outlook for sheet metal workers in South Dakota

+4.7%Projected growth in South Dakota2024–2034, state agency
50Openings per yeargrowth plus replacements
600Jobs in 2024630 projected for 2034
+2.5%US projected growth2025-35, BLS, for comparison

South Dakota's labor market agency projects the number of sheet metal workers in the state to change by +4.7% between 2024 and 2034, from 600 to 630, with about 50 openings a year. Nationally, BLS projects +2.5% over 2025-35. State counts include the self-employed, so the base is larger than the 320 counted by the BLS employer survey.

Source: South Dakota labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034 long-term projections (state projections page).

Union scale and prevailing wage for sheet metal workers in South Dakota

On federally funded construction in South Dakota, contractors must pay sheet metal workers at least the Davis-Bacon rate for the county. 34 of the 66 counties with a Building rate use a union contract rate (typical package $48.15 an hour including fringe); the rest use a survey rate (typical $30.05). 32 of the 66 counties still use a survey rate dated 2014 or earlier (for example Aurora County at $30.05). The market median for the state is $22.98.

Union contract rateSurvey rate
Union / prevailing package, $/hr, SDAurora: $30.05 (survey)Beadle: $48.15 (union)Bennett: $30.05 (survey)Bon Homme: $30.05 (survey)Brookings: $48.15 (union)Brown: $48.15 (union)Brule: $30.05 (survey)Buffalo: $48.15 (union)Butte: $43.13 (union)Campbell: $48.15 (union)Charles Mix: $30.05 (survey)Clark: $48.15 (union)Clay: $30.05 (survey)Codington: $48.15 (union)Corson: $47.57 (union)Custer: $22.40 (survey)Davison: $30.05 (survey)Day: $48.15 (union)Deuel: $48.15 (union)Dewey: $43.13 (union)Douglas: $30.05 (survey)Edmunds: $48.15 (union)Fall River: $30.05 (survey)Faulk: $48.15 (union)Grant: $48.15 (union)Gregory: $30.05 (survey)Haakon: $43.13 (union)Hamlin: $48.15 (union)Hand: $48.15 (union)Hanson: $30.05 (survey)Harding: $43.13 (union)Hughes: $48.15 (union)Hutchinson: $30.05 (survey)Hyde: $48.15 (union)Jackson: $30.05 (survey)Jerauld: $48.15 (union)Jones: $30.05 (survey)Kingsbury: $48.15 (union)Lake: $30.05 (survey)Lawrence: $43.13 (union)Lincoln: $26.91 (survey)Lyman: $30.05 (survey)McCook: $26.91 (survey)McPherson: $48.15 (union)Marshall: $48.15 (union)Meade: $22.40 (survey)Mellette: $30.05 (survey)Miner: $30.05 (survey)Minnehaha: $26.91 (survey)Moody: $30.05 (survey)Oglala Lakota: $30.05 (survey)Pennington: $22.40 (survey)Perkins: $47.57 (union)Potter: $47.57 (union)Roberts: $48.15 (union)Sanborn: $30.05 (survey)Spink: $48.15 (union)Stanley: $47.57 (union)Sully: $47.57 (union)Todd: $30.05 (survey)Tripp: $30.05 (survey)Turner: $26.91 (survey)Union: $26.91 (survey)Walworth: $48.15 (union)Yankton: $30.05 (survey)Ziebach: $47.57 (union)Union / prevailing package, $/hr$30.05$47.57survey rate
Davis-Bacon base + fringe for sheet metal workers by county, Building construction. Hatched counties use a survey rate rather than a union contract.
Market median vs prevailing wage by countyMarket medianPrevailing (survey)$20$25$30$35/hrLincoln (Sioux Falls): market median $23.23, prevailing (survey) $26.91, gap +$3.68Lincoln (Sioux Falls)+$3.68Custer (Rapid City): market median $21.29, prevailing (survey) $22.40, gap +$1.11Custer (Rapid City)+$1.11Union (Sioux City): market median $32.38, prevailing (survey) $26.91, gap −$5.47Union (Sioux City)−$5.47
Market median (BLS metro wage) vs the Davis-Bacon package (base + fringe) for sheet metal workers, metro counties in South Dakota.
CountyRate sourceBaseFringeTotalDetermination
BeadleUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
BrookingsUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260005
BrownUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260006
BuffaloUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260007
CampbellUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260009
ClarkUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
CodingtonUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260011
DayUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
DeuelUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
EdmundsUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
FaulkUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
GrantUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
HamlinUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
HandUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260021
HughesUnion SHEE0010-022 2022-06-01$30.93$17.22$48.15SD20260015

Building construction type, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Residential, Heavy and Highway rates differ; look them up on the South Dakota prevailing wage page. This is not the official wage determination.

Is construction work growing in South Dakota?

32.1kConstruction jobsSouth Dakota, 2026-09
+3.2%Change over 12 monthsseasonally unadjusted
Construction employment, 1990-20260k10k20k30k40k1990199520002005201020152020202532kSep 2026
Construction employment in South Dakota (thousands), construction supersector, BLS CES, not seasonally adjusted. Grey bands are recessions.

Contractor pay by county

Average pay at plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors establishments by county (all employees, not just sheet metal workers), from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages. Across the 45 counties that report both years, specialty trade contractor employment (all trades) went from 12,682 in 2015 to 17,169 in 2025, +35.4%.

CountyEstablishmentsEmployeesAverage annual payAvg weekly wage
Meade County22261$81,831$1,574
Grant County842$80,178$1,542
Minnehaha County1031,794$73,747$1,418
Pennington County65807$71,100$1,367
Charles Mix County516$69,412$1,335
Clay County638$66,004$1,269
Hughes County13106$65,101$1,252
Brookings County19138$62,457$1,201
Lawrence County15102$62,278$1,198
Codington County19153$60,753$1,168
Yankton County1196$59,865$1,151
Kingsbury County618$59,223$1,139

Keep comparing

Sheet metal worker pay in neighbouring states

Other trades in South Dakota

More on South Dakota

Questions this page answers

How much do sheet metal workers make in South Dakota?

The median sheet metal worker in South Dakota earned $22.98 an hour ($47,800 a year) in May 2025, 23% below the national median of $29.71. The middle half earn $20.47–$29.01; the top 10% earn more than $41.72.

Where does South Dakota rank for sheet metal worker pay?

South Dakota ranks 46th of 50 states for sheet metal worker pay, with a median of $22.98 an hour, and 41st after adjusting for South Dakota's cost of living (BEA price parity 88.6, US = 100).

What is the union sheet metal worker rate in South Dakota?

Davis-Bacon determinations list a union contract rate for sheet metal workers in 34 counties, with a typical package of $48.15 an hour including fringe benefits; see the county table above.

How many sheet metal workers work in South Dakota?

BLS counted 320 sheet metal workers in South Dakota in May 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 jobs (location quotient 0.91; 1.0 is the national average concentration).

Is sheet metal worker work growing in South Dakota?

South Dakota's labor market agency projects +4.7% growth for sheet metal workers between 2024 and 2034, from 600 to 630 jobs.

How many sheet metal worker openings a year are there in South Dakota?

South Dakota projects about 50 openings a year for sheet metal workers over 2024–2034, counting both new positions and replacements for people who retire or change occupation. Nationally BLS projects about 9,800 a year.

Sources and notes

  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, South Dakota and metro areas, SOC 47-2211. Job counts are survey estimates and exclude the self-employed.
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics, state construction employment through 2026-09.
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages.
  • BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (cost-of-living adjustment).
  • SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Not the official determination.
  • BLS Employment Projections, national, 2025-35.
  • State projection: South Dakota labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034, fetched 2026-10-05.