TradeSalary

Boilermaker salary in North Carolina

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Boilermakers in North Carolina earn a median of $49,720 a year, or $23.90 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $79,770. Nationally the median is $76,410, so North Carolina pays 35% less than the U.S. overall and ranks 36th of 37.

Median yearly pay$49,720
Bottom 10% under$40,900Top 10% over$79,770
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$19.67/hr
Jobs in North Carolina
150
After cost of living
$52,710
Median hourly pay
$23.90/hr
vs U.S. median
−35%
Rank among states
36th of 37
Mean (average) pay
$59,070 a year · $28.40 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 37). 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.

Pay by percentile

What boilermakers in North Carolina earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$19.67$40,900
25th percentile$22.34$46,460
Median (50th)$23.90$49,720
75th percentile$36.78$76,510
90th percentile$38.35$79,770

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

Pay over time

The median boilermaker wage in North Carolina rose 1.9%, from $48,800 in May 2021 to $49,720 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 14.7%.

YearMedian a yearMedian an hour
May 2021$48,800$23.46/hr
May 2022$65,720$31.60/hr
May 2023$61,790$29.71/hr
May 2024$45,760$22.00/hr
May 2025$49,720$23.90/hr

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years

How North Carolina compares

  • Boilermakers are less concentrated in North Carolina than nationally: 0.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.47 times the U.S. share.

Pay by metro area

Other trades in North Carolina

Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in North Carolina list what contractors must pay boilermakers on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.

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 37. 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 (94.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures