How much do welders make an hour in Los Angeles, CA?

The median hourly wage is $27.00. The middle half earn between $23.04 and $31.16 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Los Angeles, CA?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $21.41 an hour ($44,530 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.04.

Do welders make more in Los Angeles or San Francisco?

San Francisco pays more: the median is $56,160 in Los Angeles and $64,320 in San Francisco, a 13% difference.

How does Los Angeles pay compare with the rest of California?

The Los Angeles median of $56,160 is 3% less than the California median of $58,060.

Welder salary in Los Angeles, CA

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA area earn a median of $56,160 a year, or $27.00 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $79,870. Across all of California, the median is $58,060, so Los Angeles pays 3% less than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$56,160

Bottom 10% under$44,530Top 10% over$79,870

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $21.41/hr
Jobs in this area: 7,850
After cost of living: $49,450
Median hourly pay: $27.00/hr
vs U.S. median: +4%
vs California median: −3%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 31080, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA). 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.

Entry-level to top welder pay

Stage	Yearly pay	Hourly pay
Entry level	$44,530–$47,910$21.41–$23.04/hr
Experienced welder	$56,160$27.00/hr
Top earners	$64,800–$79,870$31.16–$38.40/hr

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

How Los Angeles, CA compares

Los Angeles ranks 11th of 25 California metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Los Angeles area than nationally: 1.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.47 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $79,870, is 1.8 times the 10th-percentile wage, $44,530: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other California metro areas

Other trades in Los Angeles, CA

Electrician HVAC technician Lineman Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Los Angeles, CA?: Welders in the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA area earn a median of $56,160 a year, or $27.00 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $79,870.
How much do welders make an hour in Los Angeles, CA?: The median hourly wage is $27.00. The middle half earn between $23.04 and $31.16 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Los Angeles, CA?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $21.41 an hour ($44,530 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.04.
Do welders make more in Los Angeles or San Francisco?: San Francisco pays more: the median is $56,160 in Los Angeles and $64,320 in San Francisco, a 13% difference.
How does Los Angeles pay compare with the rest of California?: The Los Angeles median of $56,160 is 3% less than the California median of $58,060.

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 31080 (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA). 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 (113.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures