Do welders make more in Columbus or Chicago?

Chicago pays more: the median is $49,320 in Columbus and $52,650 in Chicago, a 6% difference.

Welder salary in Columbus, IN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Columbus, IN area earn a median of $49,320 a year, or $23.71 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $66,790. Statewide, welders earn a median of $49,730; Columbus is 1% below it.

Median yearly pay$49,320

Bottom 10% under$36,720Top 10% over$66,790

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $17.66/hr
Jobs in this area: 310
After cost of living: $53,030
Median hourly pay: $23.71/hr
vs U.S. median: −8%
vs Indiana median: −1%
Mean (average) pay: $50,690 a year · $24.37 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 18020, Columbus, IN). 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 Columbus, IN 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	$17.66	$36,720
25th percentile	$22.10	$45,970
Median (50th)	$23.71	$49,320
75th percentile	$27.50	$57,210
90th percentile	$32.11	$66,790

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

How Columbus, IN compares

Columbus ranks 10th of 15 Indiana metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Columbus area than nationally: 6.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 2.3 times the U.S. share.

Other Indiana metro areas

Other trades in Columbus, IN

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Columbus or Chicago?: Chicago pays more: the median is $49,320 in Columbus and $52,650 in Chicago, a 6% 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 18020 (Columbus, IN). 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 (93.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures