Do welders make more in Champaign or Peoria?

Peoria pays more: the median is $48,610 in Champaign and $58,960 in Peoria, a 18% difference.

Welder salary in Champaign, IL

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Champaign–Urbana, IL area earn a median of $48,610 a year, or $23.37 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $62,690. That's 5% less than the Illinois median of $51,320.

Median yearly pay$48,610

Bottom 10% under$39,250Top 10% over$62,690

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $18.87/hr
Jobs in this area: 100
After cost of living: $52,440
Median hourly pay: $23.37/hr
vs U.S. median: −10%
vs Illinois median: −5%
Mean (average) pay: $51,710 a year · $24.86 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 16580, Champaign-Urbana, IL). 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 Champaign, IL 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	$18.87	$39,250
25th percentile	$21.66	$45,040
Median (50th)	$23.37	$48,610
75th percentile	$27.42	$57,020
90th percentile	$30.14	$62,690

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

How Champaign, IL compares

Champaign ranks 8th of 12 Illinois metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Champaign area than nationally: 0.9 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.35 times the U.S. share.

Other Illinois metro areas

Other trades in Champaign, IL

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Champaign or Peoria?: Peoria pays more: the median is $48,610 in Champaign and $58,960 in Peoria, a 18% 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 16580 (Champaign-Urbana, IL). 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 (92.7, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures