TradeSalary

Welder salary in Fairbanks, AK

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Fairbanks–College, AK area earn a median of $80,210 a year, or $38.56 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $109,940 a year. That's 1% less than the Alaska median of $80,840.

Median yearly pay$80,210
Bottom 10% under$57,980Top 10% over$109,940
Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
$27.88/hr
Jobs in this area
70
After cost of living
$77,720
Median hourly pay
$38.56/hr
vs U.S. median
+49%
vs Alaska median
−1%
Mean (average) pay
$83,300 a year · $40.05 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 21820, Fairbanks-College, AK). Excludes self-employed welders. 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 welders in Fairbanks, AK 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$27.88$57,980
25th percentile$29.17$60,670
Median (50th)$38.56$80,210
75th percentile$52.85$109,940
90th percentile$52.85$109,940

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

How Fairbanks, AK compares

  • Welders are less concentrated in the Fairbanks area than nationally: 2.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.75 times the U.S. share.

Other Alaska metro areas

Other trades in Fairbanks, AK

Questions

Do welders make more in Fairbanks or Anchorage?
Fairbanks pays more: the median is $80,210 in Fairbanks and $74,000 in Anchorage, a 8% difference.

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), area code 21820 (Fairbanks-College, AK). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed welders 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 (103.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures