How much do welders make an hour in Boston, MA-NH?

The median hourly wage is $30.66. The middle half earn between $27.04 and $36.59 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Boston, MA-NH?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.57 an hour ($49,030 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $27.04.

Do welders make more in Boston or Worcester?

Boston pays more: the median is $63,770 in Boston and $60,320 in Worcester, a 6% difference.

How does Boston pay compare with the rest of Massachusetts?

The Boston median of $63,770 is 2% more than the Massachusetts median of $62,570.

Welder salary in Boston, MA-NH

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH area earn a median of $63,770 a year, or $30.66 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $83,430 a year. Across all of Massachusetts, the median is $62,570, so Boston pays 2% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$63,770

Bottom 10% under$49,030Top 10% over$83,430

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $23.57/hr
Jobs in this area: 2,210
After cost of living: $58,900
Median hourly pay: $30.66/hr
vs U.S. median: +19%
vs Massachusetts median: +2%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 14460, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH). 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	$49,030–$56,250$23.57–$27.04/hr
Experienced welder	$63,770$30.66/hr
Top earners	$76,100–$83,430$36.59–$40.11/hr

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

How Boston, MA-NH compares

Boston has the highest welder median of the 4 Massachusetts metro areas with published pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Boston area than nationally: 0.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.31 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $83,430, is 1.7 times the 10th-percentile wage, $49,030: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Massachusetts metro areas

Other trades in Boston, MA-NH

Electrician HVAC technician Lineman Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Boston, MA-NH?: Welders in the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH area earn a median of $63,770 a year, or $30.66 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $83,430 a year.
How much do welders make an hour in Boston, MA-NH?: The median hourly wage is $30.66. The middle half earn between $27.04 and $36.59 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Boston, MA-NH?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.57 an hour ($49,030 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $27.04.
Do welders make more in Boston or Worcester?: Boston pays more: the median is $63,770 in Boston and $60,320 in Worcester, a 6% difference.
How does Boston pay compare with the rest of Massachusetts?: The Boston median of $63,770 is 2% more than the Massachusetts median of $62,570.

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 14460 (Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH). 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 (108.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures