Do welders make more in Cedar Rapids or Des Moines?

Des Moines pays more: the median is $56,750 in Cedar Rapids and $59,980 in Des Moines, a 5% difference.

Welder salary in Cedar Rapids, IA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Cedar Rapids, IA area earn a median of $56,750 a year, or $27.28 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $66,190. That's 3% more than the Iowa median of $55,090.

Median yearly pay$56,750

Bottom 10% under$45,550Top 10% over$66,190

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $21.90/hr
Jobs in this area: 560
After cost of living: $63,790
Median hourly pay: $27.28/hr
vs U.S. median: +6%
vs Iowa median: +3%
Mean (average) pay: $55,720 a year · $26.79 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 16300, Cedar Rapids, IA). 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 Cedar Rapids, IA 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	$21.90	$45,550
25th percentile	$22.94	$47,710
Median (50th)	$27.28	$56,750
75th percentile	$28.72	$59,730
90th percentile	$31.82	$66,190

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

How Cedar Rapids, IA compares

Cedar Rapids ranks 5th of 9 Iowa metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Cedar Rapids area than nationally: 4.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.5 times the U.S. share.

Other Iowa metro areas

Other trades in Cedar Rapids, IA

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Cedar Rapids or Des Moines?: Des Moines pays more: the median is $56,750 in Cedar Rapids and $59,980 in Des Moines, a 5% 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 16300 (Cedar Rapids, IA). 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 (89.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures