How Much Is Scrap Metal Worth Per Pound? (2026 Seller’s Guide)
As a rough guide, copper is the most valuable common scrap metal (often several dollars per pound), brass and aluminum sit in the middle, and steel and iron pay the least per pound — but make up for it by weight. These are sector estimates that change every day with global markets, so treat them as a starting point, not a quote. For today's exact price on your material, contact Scrap City.
“How much is my scrap worth per pound?” is the first thing almost everyone wants to know — and the honest answer is: it depends on the metal, the grade, and the day. Scrap prices are tied to global commodity markets that move constantly, so no one can give you a number that stays true next week. What this guide can do is show you the relative value of each common metal, realistic 2026 ranges to set your expectations, and how to estimate a load before you ever leave the house.
Think of the figures here as a map, not a price tag. They’ll tell you whether you’re holding $5 of steel or $200 of copper, and they’ll help you decide what’s worth sorting — but the real number always comes from the yard on the day you sell.
Quick answer — relative value by metal
Here are approximate sector ranges for common scrap metals in 2026, drawn from public price trackers. Non-ferrous metals (copper, brass, aluminum) sit at the top; ferrous metals (steel, iron) at the bottom.
| Metal | Typical items | Approx. sector range per lb (changes daily) |
|---|---|---|
| Copper (bright / #1 / #2) | Wire, pipe, tubing | ~$2.00–4.00+ / lb |
| Brass | Faucets, valves, fittings | ~$1.50–3.00 / lb |
| Aluminum | Cans, extrusion, sheet, wheels | ~$0.40–0.80 / lb |
| Stainless steel | Sinks, appliances, railings | ~$0.30–0.60 / lb |
| Lead | Weights, flashing | ~$0.30–0.50 / lb |
| Car batteries (lead-acid) | Vehicle batteries | often priced per battery, ~$0.10–0.30 / lb |
| Steel & iron (ferrous) | Appliances, fencing, structural | ~$0.05–0.15 / lb |
Important: The ranges in this article are approximate sector figures from public price trackers (e.g., iScrap App, ScrapMonster) and move every day with global metal markets. They are not an offer or a guaranteed price. For today’s actual price on your material, contact Scrap City.
A closer look at each metal
Copper is the headline act. Bright, clean copper wire and tubing (often graded #1) sits at the top, with #2 copper (slightly oxidized or with solder) a step below, and insulated wire lower still because the yard pays only for the recoverable metal inside. Strip insulation and remove fittings where it’s practical, and your copper jumps a grade.
Brass — the alloy in faucets, valves and fittings — is the next tier down, and yards may distinguish yellow brass from the higher red brass. Aluminum is a volume metal: cans, extrusion, sheet and cast each grade a little differently, and clean aluminum free of steel attachments pays best. Stainless steel pays more than ordinary steel but only the non-magnetic, higher-nickel grades fetch the top stainless rate.
At the bottom per pound is ferrous metal — steel and iron — which is abundant and cheap to source. Don’t let the low per-pound figure fool you, though: an appliance, a pile of fencing or a vehicle is heavy, so ferrous still pays in volume even when the rate is just pennies a pound.
Why these are estimates, not quotes
Scrap prices start with global benchmarks. Non-ferrous prices track the London Metal Exchange (LME), whose official prices are the world reference for metals like copper and aluminum. Every yard sets its daily buy price off those benchmarks and then subtracts its processing and transport costs, and adjusts for local supply and demand.
On top of that, public trackers like iScrap App and ScrapMonster publish reference prices, but they themselves note that these figures are for reference and can lag the live market. That’s why the single most reliable number is a phone call to the yard for the day’s price on your specific material — especially for higher-value metals like copper and brass, where a swing of a few cents per pound adds up fast on a big load.
Per-pound vs. per-ton: how yards quote
One thing that confuses new sellers is that not everything is quoted the same way. Non-ferrous metals are almost always priced per pound, because even small quantities are valuable. Ferrous metal, on the other hand, is often quoted per ton, since it only becomes worthwhile in bulk. If a yard gives you a ferrous price that looks tiny per pound, that’s normal — convert it mentally to a few cents a pound and remember the value is in the weight. When you compare yards, make sure you’re comparing the same unit for the same metal.
What affects your payout
- Grade. Bright, clean copper wire pays far more than dirty or heavily oxidized copper. Within a single metal, grade can change the price dramatically.
- Cleanliness. Insulation on wire, steel attachments on a non-ferrous part, paint, dirt and moisture all pull the price down because the yard has to account for what isn’t usable metal.
- Ferrous vs. non-ferrous. The first split a yard makes. If you’re not sure which you have, a magnet tells you in seconds — see our guide on ferrous vs. non-ferrous metal.
- Quantity. Larger, sorted loads are more efficient for the yard to process and often earn better treatment than tiny mixed amounts.
- Timing. Prices move daily, so the same load can be worth a little more or less week to week — see our guide on the best time to sell scrap metal.
How to estimate a load before you go
You can get a rough idea of what a load is worth in a few minutes:
- Identify the metal. Use a magnet to split ferrous from non-ferrous, then sort the non-ferrous by type (copper, aluminum, brass).
- Weigh it. A bathroom scale works for small loads — weigh yourself holding the metal, then subtract.
- Check a reference rate. Look up an approximate per-pound figure for that metal and grade on a price tracker.
- Do the math. Multiply the weight by the reference rate for a ballpark — then treat it as a ceiling, since grade and deductions can lower it.
- Confirm with the yard. Call for the day’s price, or use the Scrap City price calculator, before you load up.
A ballpark example
Say you’ve stripped 20 pounds of clean, bright copper wire. At an illustrative reference rate of around $3.50 per pound, that’s roughly $70 — but this is purely hypothetical. The real figure depends on the day’s copper price, how the yard grades the copper, and whether any of it is still insulated. Run the same 20 pounds as steel instead and you might be looking at a couple of dollars, which is exactly why sorting and identifying your metal matters so much.
Common mistakes that cost you money
A few habits quietly shrink people’s payouts. The biggest is bringing a mixed, unsorted load — when copper, brass, aluminum and steel arrive jumbled together, a yard often has to grade the lot down toward the cheapest metal in the pile. Another is leaving high-value parts attached to junk: a clean copper motor winding is worth far more separated than left inside a steel housing. Selling dirty or wet material, forgetting to strip insulation off heavy wire, and tossing small non-ferrous pieces in with the steel all leave money on the table.
The fixes are easy and free: separate ferrous from non-ferrous with a magnet, group the non-ferrous by type, keep it dry and reasonably clean, and don’t throw small valuable pieces into the steel pile. Ten minutes of sorting routinely beats chasing a slightly higher headline price across town.
Does where you sell change the price?
To a degree, yes. Two yards working off the same global benchmark can still quote slightly different prices because their transport costs, local demand and export access differ — and a yard’s grading practices matter just as much. That’s why comparing the net payout (what actually lands in your pocket) beats chasing the highest advertised rate. If you’re curious how regional factors play out locally, see our guide on whether Florida scrap prices run higher than the national average. For most loads, though, the bigger lever is still your own sorting and grade, not the zip code of the yard.
The bottom line
Copper and brass are where the real per-pound value is; aluminum and stainless are solid mid-tier earners; steel pays little per pound but rewards volume. Use the ranges above to plan and prioritize what to sort, lean on a magnet to tell ferrous from non-ferrous, and always confirm the live number with the yard. A few minutes of sorting plus one phone call is the difference between guessing and knowing.
Want an accurate quote for your load? Call or text us at +1 (954) 330-9472 to get today’s prices by metal type and grade at Scrap City.
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