How much do welders make an hour in Boulder, CO?

The median hourly wage is $31.27. The middle half earn between $23.65 and $33.56 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Boulder, CO?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.28 an hour ($46,350 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.65.

Do welders make more in Boulder or Fort Collins?

Boulder pays more: the median is $65,040 in Boulder and $59,660 in Fort Collins, a 9% difference.

How does Boulder pay compare with the rest of Colorado?

The Boulder median of $65,040 is 11% more than the Colorado median of $58,590.

Welder salary in Boulder, CO

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Boulder, CO area earn a median of $65,040 a year, or $31.27 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $76,200 a year. Across all of Colorado, the median is $58,590, so Boulder pays 11% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$65,040

Bottom 10% under$46,350Top 10% over$76,200

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $22.28/hr
Jobs in this area: 260
After cost of living: $61,820
Median hourly pay: $31.27/hr
vs U.S. median: +21%
vs Colorado median: +11%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 14500, Boulder, CO). 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	$46,350–$49,190$22.28–$23.65/hr
Experienced welder	$65,040$31.27/hr
Top earners	$69,810–$76,200$33.56–$36.63/hr

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

How Boulder, CO compares

Boulder has the highest welder median of the 7 Colorado metro areas with published pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Boulder area than nationally: 1.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.50 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $76,200, is 1.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $46,350: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Colorado metro areas

Other trades in Boulder, CO

Electrician HVAC technician Lineman Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Boulder, CO?: Welders in the Boulder, CO area earn a median of $65,040 a year, or $31.27 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $76,200 a year.
How much do welders make an hour in Boulder, CO?: The median hourly wage is $31.27. The middle half earn between $23.65 and $33.56 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Boulder, CO?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.28 an hour ($46,350 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.65.
Do welders make more in Boulder or Fort Collins?: Boulder pays more: the median is $65,040 in Boulder and $59,660 in Fort Collins, a 9% difference.
How does Boulder pay compare with the rest of Colorado?: The Boulder median of $65,040 is 11% more than the Colorado median of $58,590.

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 14500 (Boulder, CO). 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 (105.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures