How much do welders make an hour in Baton Rouge, LA?

The median hourly wage is $37.58. The middle half earn between $29.41 and $38.41 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Baton Rouge, LA?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.79 an hour ($49,480 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $29.41.

Do welders make more in Baton Rouge or Lake Charles?

Baton Rouge pays more: the median is $78,170 in Baton Rouge and $72,920 in Lake Charles, a 7% difference.

How does Baton Rouge pay compare with the rest of Louisiana?

The Baton Rouge median of $78,170 is 26% more than the Louisiana median of $62,250.

Welder salary in Baton Rouge, LA

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Baton Rouge, LA area earn a median of $78,170 a year, or $37.58 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $92,270 a year. Across all of Louisiana, the median is $62,250, so Baton Rouge pays 26% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$78,170

Bottom 10% under$49,480Top 10% over$92,270

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $23.79/hr
Jobs in this area: 3,690
After cost of living: $86,110
Median hourly pay: $37.58/hr
vs U.S. median: +45%
vs Louisiana median: +26%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 12940, Baton Rouge, LA). 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	$49,480–$61,170$23.79–$29.41/hr
Experienced welder	$78,170$37.58/hr
Top earners	$79,880–$92,270$38.41–$44.36/hr

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

How Baton Rouge, LA compares

Baton Rouge has the highest welder median of the 10 Louisiana metro areas with published pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Baton Rouge area than nationally: 9.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 3.4 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $92,270, is 1.9 times the 10th-percentile wage, $49,480: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Louisiana metro areas

Other trades in Baton Rouge, LA

Electrician HVAC technician Lineman Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Baton Rouge, LA?: Welders in the Baton Rouge, LA area earn a median of $78,170 a year, or $37.58 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $92,270 a year.
How much do welders make an hour in Baton Rouge, LA?: The median hourly wage is $37.58. The middle half earn between $29.41 and $38.41 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Baton Rouge, LA?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.79 an hour ($49,480 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $29.41.
Do welders make more in Baton Rouge or Lake Charles?: Baton Rouge pays more: the median is $78,170 in Baton Rouge and $72,920 in Lake Charles, a 7% difference.
How does Baton Rouge pay compare with the rest of Louisiana?: The Baton Rouge median of $78,170 is 26% more than the Louisiana median of $62,250.

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 12940 (Baton Rouge, LA). 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 (90.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures