Welder salary in Illinois
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Welders in Illinois earn a median of $51,320 a year, or $24.67 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $76,730. Illinois ranks 34th of 51 states and DC for welder pay, at 5% less than the U.S. median of $53,750.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $18.70/hr
- Jobs in Illinois
- 16,260
- After cost of living
- $51,340
- Median hourly pay
- $24.67/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −5%
- Rank among states
- 34th of 51
- Mean (average) pay
- $55,930 a year · $26.89 an hour
Pay by percentile
What welders in Illinois 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 | $18.70 | $38,890 |
| 25th percentile | $22.36 | $46,500 |
| Median (50th) | $24.67 | $51,320 |
| 75th percentile | $29.58 | $61,520 |
| 90th percentile | $36.89 | $76,730 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median welder wage in Illinois rose 15.1%, from $44,590 in May 2021 to $51,320 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 3.6%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $44,590 | $21.44/hr |
| May 2022 | $46,650 | $22.43/hr |
| May 2023 | $47,080 | $22.63/hr |
| May 2024 | $49,730 | $23.91/hr |
| May 2025 | $51,320 | $24.67/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How Illinois compares
- Welders hold about the same share of jobs in Illinois as nationally: 2.7 of every 1,000 jobs.
Pay by metro area
Rural Illinois
- South Illinois$56,160
- West Central Illinois$52,230
- Northwest Illinois$52,050
- East Central Illinois$48,870
Other trades in Illinois
Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in Illinois list what contractors must pay welders on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.
Questions
- Where in Illinois do welders earn the most?
- Among Illinois metro areas, Peoria has the highest median at $58,960 a year, and Bloomington the lowest at $47,180.
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 17. 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 (100.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures