How much do welders make an hour in Columbus, GA-AL?

The median hourly wage is $19.28. The middle half earn between $15.22 and $23.01 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Columbus, GA-AL?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $15.22 an hour ($31,650 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $15.22.

Do welders make more in Columbus or Savannah?

Savannah pays more: the median is $40,100 in Columbus and $56,410 in Savannah, a 29% difference.

How does Columbus pay compare with the rest of Georgia?

The Columbus median of $40,100 is 17% less than the Georgia median of $48,430.

Welder salary in Columbus, GA-AL

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Columbus, GA-AL area earn a median of $40,100 a year, or $19.28 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $57,020 a year. Statewide, welders earn a median of $48,430; Columbus is 17% below it.

Median yearly pay$40,100

Bottom 10% under$31,650Top 10% over$57,020

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $15.22/hr
Jobs in this area: 330
After cost of living: $44,910
Median hourly pay: $19.28/hr
vs U.S. median: −25%
vs Georgia median: −17%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 17980, Columbus, GA-AL). 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	$31,650–$31,650$15.22–$15.22/hr
Experienced welder	$40,100$19.28/hr
Top earners	$47,850–$57,020$23.01–$27.42/hr

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

How Columbus, GA-AL compares

Columbus has the lowest welder median of the 14 Georgia metro areas with published pay.
Welders hold about the same share of jobs in the Columbus area as nationally: 2.8 of every 1,000 jobs.
The 90th-percentile wage, $57,020, is 1.8 times the 10th-percentile wage, $31,650: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Georgia metro areas

Other trades in Columbus, GA-AL

Electrician HVAC technician Lineman Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Columbus, GA-AL?: Welders in the Columbus, GA-AL area earn a median of $40,100 a year, or $19.28 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $57,020 a year.
How much do welders make an hour in Columbus, GA-AL?: The median hourly wage is $19.28. The middle half earn between $15.22 and $23.01 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Columbus, GA-AL?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $15.22 an hour ($31,650 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $15.22.
Do welders make more in Columbus or Savannah?: Savannah pays more: the median is $40,100 in Columbus and $56,410 in Savannah, a 29% difference.
How does Columbus pay compare with the rest of Georgia?: The Columbus median of $40,100 is 17% less than the Georgia median of $48,430.

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 17980 (Columbus, GA-AL). 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 (89.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures