How much do boilermakers make an hour in New Orleans, LA?

The median hourly wage is $37.16. The middle half earn between $35.81 and $37.28 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice boilermakers make in New Orleans, LA?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $31.70 an hour ($65,940 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $35.81.

How much does a journeyman boilermaker make in New Orleans, LA?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $77,290 a year ($37.16 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $77,540–$78,150.

Do boilermakers make more in New Orleans or Baton Rouge?

New Orleans pays more: the median is $77,290 in New Orleans and $74,730 in Baton Rouge, a 3% difference.

How does New Orleans pay compare with the rest of Louisiana?

The New Orleans median of $77,290 is 4% more than the Louisiana median of $73,980.

Boilermaker salary in New Orleans, LA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Boilermakers in the New Orleans–Metairie, LA area earn a median of $77,290 a year, or $37.16 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $78,150. Across all of Louisiana, the median is $73,980, so New Orleans pays 4% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$77,290

Bottom 10% under$65,940Top 10% over$78,150

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $31.70/hr
Jobs in this area: 120
After cost of living: $83,470
Median hourly pay: $37.16/hr
vs U.S. median: +1%
vs Louisiana median: +4%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 35380, New Orleans-Metairie, LA). Excludes self-employed boilermakers. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Apprentice, journeyman and top boilermaker pay

Stage	Yearly pay	Hourly pay
Apprentice	$65,940–$74,480$31.70–$35.81/hr
Journeyman	$77,290$37.16/hr
Top earners	$77,540–$78,150$37.28–$37.57/hr

Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.

How New Orleans, LA compares

New Orleans has the highest boilermaker median of the 3 Louisiana metro areas with published pay.
Boilermakers are more concentrated in the New Orleans area than nationally: 0.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 4.2 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $78,150, is 1.2 times the 10th-percentile wage, $65,940: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Louisiana metro areas

Other trades in New Orleans, LA

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Lineman Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic Ironworker Millwright

Questions

How much do boilermakers make in New Orleans, LA?: Boilermakers in the New Orleans–Metairie, LA area earn a median of $77,290 a year, or $37.16 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $78,150.
How much do boilermakers make an hour in New Orleans, LA?: The median hourly wage is $37.16. The middle half earn between $35.81 and $37.28 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice boilermakers make in New Orleans, LA?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $31.70 an hour ($65,940 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $35.81.
How much does a journeyman boilermaker make in New Orleans, LA?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $77,290 a year ($37.16 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $77,540–$78,150.
Do boilermakers make more in New Orleans or Baton Rouge?: New Orleans pays more: the median is $77,290 in New Orleans and $74,730 in Baton Rouge, a 3% difference.
How does New Orleans pay compare with the rest of Louisiana?: The New Orleans median of $77,290 is 4% more than the Louisiana median of $73,980.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 47-2011 (Boilermakers), area code 35380 (New Orleans-Metairie, LA). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed boilermakers and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (92.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures