How much do welders make an hour in Bowling Green, KY?

The median hourly wage is $25.78. The middle half earn between $23.03 and $25.78 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Bowling Green, KY?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $20.53 an hour ($42,710 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.03.

Do welders make more in Bowling Green or Elizabethtown?

Elizabethtown pays more: the median is $53,630 in Bowling Green and $59,900 in Elizabethtown, a 10% difference.

How does Bowling Green pay compare with the rest of Kentucky?

The Bowling Green median of $53,630 is 4% more than the Kentucky median of $51,470.

Welder salary in Bowling Green, KY

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Bowling Green, KY area earn a median of $53,630 a year, or $25.78 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $59,820 a year. Statewide, welders earn a median of $51,470; Bowling Green is 4% above it.

Median yearly pay$53,630

Bottom 10% under$42,710Top 10% over$59,820

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $20.53/hr
Jobs in this area: 400
After cost of living: $59,470
Median hourly pay: $25.78/hr
vs U.S. median: 0%
vs Kentucky median: +4%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 14540, Bowling Green, KY). 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.

Entry-level to top welder pay

Stage	Yearly pay	Hourly pay
Entry level	$42,710–$47,910$20.53–$23.03/hr
Experienced welder	$53,630$25.78/hr
Top earners	$53,630–$59,820$25.78–$28.76/hr

Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.

How Bowling Green, KY compares

Bowling Green ranks 3rd of 9 Kentucky metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Bowling Green area than nationally: 4.9 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.8 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $59,820, is 1.4 times the 10th-percentile wage, $42,710: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Kentucky metro areas

Other trades in Bowling Green, KY

Electrician HVAC technician Lineman Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Bowling Green, KY?: Welders in the Bowling Green, KY area earn a median of $53,630 a year, or $25.78 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $59,820 a year.
How much do welders make an hour in Bowling Green, KY?: The median hourly wage is $25.78. The middle half earn between $23.03 and $25.78 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Bowling Green, KY?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $20.53 an hour ($42,710 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.03.
Do welders make more in Bowling Green or Elizabethtown?: Elizabethtown pays more: the median is $53,630 in Bowling Green and $59,900 in Elizabethtown, a 10% difference.
How does Bowling Green pay compare with the rest of Kentucky?: The Bowling Green median of $53,630 is 4% more than the Kentucky median of $51,470.

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 14540 (Bowling Green, KY). 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 (90.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures