How much do welders make an hour in Lexington, KY?

The median hourly wage is $25.81. The middle half earn between $22.78 and $31.13 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Lexington, KY?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $19.31 an hour ($40,170 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.78.

Do welders make more in Lexington or Elizabethtown?

Elizabethtown pays more: the median is $53,680 in Lexington and $59,900 in Elizabethtown, a 10% difference.

How does Lexington pay compare with the rest of Kentucky?

The Lexington median of $53,680 is 4% more than the Kentucky median of $51,470.

Welder salary in Lexington, KY

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Lexington–Fayette, KY area earn a median of $53,680 a year, or $25.81 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $66,300. Across all of Kentucky, the median is $51,470, so Lexington pays 4% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$53,680

Bottom 10% under$40,170Top 10% over$66,300

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $19.31/hr
Jobs in this area: 480
After cost of living: $57,790
Median hourly pay: $25.81/hr
vs U.S. median: 0%
vs Kentucky median: +4%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 30460, Lexington-Fayette, 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	$40,170–$47,390$19.31–$22.78/hr
Experienced welder	$53,680$25.81/hr
Top earners	$64,740–$66,300$31.13–$31.88/hr

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

How Lexington, KY compares

Lexington ranks 2nd of 9 Kentucky metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Lexington area than nationally: 1.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.63 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $66,300, is 1.7 times the 10th-percentile wage, $40,170: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Kentucky metro areas

Other trades in Lexington, KY

Electrician HVAC technician Lineman Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Lexington, KY?: Welders in the Lexington–Fayette, KY area earn a median of $53,680 a year, or $25.81 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $66,300.
How much do welders make an hour in Lexington, KY?: The median hourly wage is $25.81. The middle half earn between $22.78 and $31.13 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Lexington, KY?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $19.31 an hour ($40,170 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.78.
Do welders make more in Lexington or Elizabethtown?: Elizabethtown pays more: the median is $53,680 in Lexington and $59,900 in Elizabethtown, a 10% difference.
How does Lexington pay compare with the rest of Kentucky?: The Lexington median of $53,680 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 30460 (Lexington-Fayette, 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 (92.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures