Abstract The theory of the strength of load-bearing structural elements made of steel I-beams suggests that the nature of the stress distribution in the element is known, including from the action of concentrated pressure. A concentrated load is often applied at the level of the upper girdle of the beams, and causes local stresses in the wall. The walls of steel I-beams, due to their insignificant thickness, are sensitive to local pressure. That is why it is necessary to accurately determine the most stressed sections of the wall and the intensity of local stresses. In this paper, we consider a test model of a steel I-beam with a span of 9 m, to the upper girdle of which a concentrated load of 200 kN is applied. The local stresses in the wall are determined by analytical and numerical methods. The numerical calculation of the beam model was performed in the SCAD Office computing complex. The beam is modeled from volumetric isoparametric finite elements. The length of the beam wall is divided by two-sided stiffeners into nine compartments, with a step of 1000 mm. A comparative analysis of the nature of the distribution of local stresses in the wall of a steel beam obtained by analytical and numerical calculations is presented. Recommendations are given on taking into account local stresses in the beam wall from the action of a concentrated load when calculating strength.