Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
SOC 47-2171 · 2024-2034
Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $64,820per year
- Projected openings
- 2,660
- Projected change
- +5.9%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Operation and Control
- Time Management
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $66,766 | 270 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $59,406 | 90 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $55,206 | 560 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $50,532 | 100 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | Not reported | 110 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $45,438
- A quarter earn under
- $50,225
- Half earn under
- $64,820
- Three quarters earn under
- $103,757
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $110,967
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structural Iron and Steel Workers | $78,439 | 6,220 | +5.5% |
| Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters | $58,904 | 2,460 | -20% |
| Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers | $67,665 | 25,830 | +5% |
| Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | $64,399 | 20,640 | +3.1% |
| Sheet Metal Workers | $78,665 | 7,970 | +5.5% |
| Brickmasons and Blockmasons | $70,921 | 4,180 | +5.7% |
Programs that train for this job — 5
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 118
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 118 · Sacramento · $0
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 229
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 229 · San Diego · $0
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 416
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 416 · La Palma · $0
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 377 SC
Int. Assoc. Bridge Struct. Orn. Reinf. Ironworkers LU 377 SC · Benicia · $0
Welding Technology - CA
College of the Redwoods · Eureka · $2,640