Welder salary
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Welders in the U.S. earn a median of $53,750 a year, or $25.84 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $77,530 a year.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $18.87/hr
- Jobs nationwide
- 416,210
- Median hourly pay
- $25.84/hr
- Mean (average) pay
- $56,760 a year · $27.29 an hour
Pay by percentile
What welders in the U.S. 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.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.87 | $39,240 |
| 25th percentile | $22.50 | $46,790 |
| Median (50th) | $25.84 | $53,750 |
| 75th percentile | $30.29 | $63,010 |
| 90th percentile | $37.28 | $77,530 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median welder wage in the U.S. rose 14.3%, from $47,010 in May 2021 to $53,750 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 4.3%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $47,010 | $22.60/hr |
| May 2022 | $47,540 | $22.86/hr |
| May 2023 | $48,940 | $23.53/hr |
| May 2024 | $51,000 | $24.52/hr |
| May 2025 | $53,750 | $25.84/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
Welder pay by state
- Alaska$80,840
- Hawaii$79,000
- Connecticut$64,880
- Wyoming$63,820
- Washington$63,020
- Massachusetts$62,570
- New Hampshire$62,360
- Louisiana$62,250
- Maine$62,220
- North Dakota$62,000
See all 50 states and DC
- Nevada$61,520
- Vermont$60,890
- Maryland$60,310
- Minnesota$60,280
- District of Columbia$60,180
- New Mexico$59,840
- Oregon$59,450
- New Jersey$59,440
- Virginia$59,180
- New York$59,140
- Colorado$58,590
- Wisconsin$58,410
- Utah$58,380
- California$58,060
- Delaware$57,270
- Montana$55,610
- Arizona$55,600
- Iowa$55,090
- Texas$53,340
- Pennsylvania$52,900
- Nebraska$52,220
- Missouri$51,950
- Kentucky$51,470
- Illinois$51,320
- Mississippi$51,100
- Florida$50,640
- North Carolina$50,590
- Rhode Island$50,580
- Idaho$50,530
- Ohio$50,340
- Michigan$49,990
- South Carolina$49,980
- Indiana$49,730
- Oklahoma$49,720
- South Dakota$49,440
- Kansas$49,410
- West Virginia$48,810
- Alabama$48,490
- Georgia$48,430
- Tennessee$48,040
- Arkansas$47,970
Top-paying metro areas
Other trades in the U.S.
Questions
- Which state pays welders the most?
- Alaska, with a median of $80,840 a year, followed by Hawaii ($79,000). Arkansas has the lowest median, $47,970.
- Which metro area pays welders the most?
- The Lima, OH area, with a median of $85,790 a year.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 51-4121 (Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed welders and business owners aren't included. Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures