Do welders make more in Fort Wayne or Chicago?

Chicago pays more: the median is $49,300 in Fort Wayne and $52,650 in Chicago, a 6% difference.

Welder salary in Fort Wayne, IN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Fort Wayne, IN area earn a median of $49,300 a year, or $23.70 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $63,730. That's 1% less than the Indiana median of $49,730.

Median yearly pay$49,300

Bottom 10% under$38,340Top 10% over$63,730

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $18.44/hr
Jobs in this area: 890
After cost of living: $53,260
Median hourly pay: $23.70/hr
vs U.S. median: −8%
vs Indiana median: −1%
Mean (average) pay: $52,210 a year · $25.10 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 23060, Fort Wayne, 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 Fort Wayne, 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	$18.44	$38,340
25th percentile	$21.91	$45,570
Median (50th)	$23.70	$49,300
75th percentile	$28.63	$59,540
90th percentile	$30.64	$63,730

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

How Fort Wayne, IN compares

Fort Wayne ranks 11th of 15 Indiana metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Fort Wayne area than nationally: 3.9 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.5 times the U.S. share.

Other Indiana metro areas

Other trades in Fort Wayne, IN

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Fort Wayne or Chicago?: Chicago pays more: the median is $49,300 in Fort Wayne 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 23060 (Fort Wayne, 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 (92.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures