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Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters pay in Illinois and Maine
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters is $55,380 per year in Illinois. It is $64,760 per year in Maine. Illinois is 14.5% below Maine on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-2041 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 1,910 wage and salary jobs in Illinois and 770 in Maine. 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