Do welders make more in Athens or Savannah?

Savannah pays more: the median is $47,970 in Athens and $56,410 in Savannah, a 15% difference.

Welder salary in Athens, GA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Athens–Clarke County, GA area earn a median of $47,970 a year, or $23.06 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $60,190 a year. That's 1% less than the Georgia median of $48,430.

Median yearly pay$47,970

Bottom 10% under$38,170Top 10% over$60,190

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $18.35/hr
Jobs in this area: 370
After cost of living: $51,390
Median hourly pay: $23.06/hr
vs U.S. median: −11%
vs Georgia median: −1%
Mean (average) pay: $52,140 a year · $25.07 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 12020, Athens-Clarke County, GA). 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 Athens, GA 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	$18.35	$38,170
25th percentile	$23.02	$47,870
Median (50th)	$23.06	$47,970
75th percentile	$28.39	$59,050
90th percentile	$28.94	$60,190

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

How Athens, GA compares

Athens ranks 8th of 14 Georgia metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Athens area than nationally: 3.9 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.4 times the U.S. share.

Other Georgia metro areas

Other trades in Athens, GA

Electrician HVAC technician Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic

Questions

Do welders make more in Athens or Savannah?: Savannah pays more: the median is $47,970 in Athens and $56,410 in Savannah, a 15% 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 12020 (Athens-Clarke County, GA). 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 (93.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures