Start with the answer
Sheet Metal Workers pay in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and Traverse City, MI
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Sheet Metal Workers is $109,830 per year in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. It is $65,940 per year in Traverse City, MI. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 66.6% above Traverse City, MI on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-2211 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 2,190 wage and salary jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and 70 in Traverse City, MI. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
