Do welders make more in Ann Arbor or Detroit?

Ann Arbor pays more: the median is $54,180 in Ann Arbor and $51,810 in Detroit, a 5% difference.

Welder salary in Ann Arbor, MI

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Ann Arbor, MI area earn a median of $54,180 a year, or $26.05 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $77,310. Across all of Michigan, the median is $49,990, so Ann Arbor pays 8% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$54,180

Bottom 10% under$40,200Top 10% over$77,310

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $19.33/hr
Jobs in this area: 220
After cost of living: $53,710
Median hourly pay: $26.05/hr
vs U.S. median: +1%
vs Michigan median: +8%
Mean (average) pay: $57,750 a year · $27.77 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 11460, Ann Arbor, MI). 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 Ann Arbor, MI 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	$19.33	$40,200
25th percentile	$23.18	$48,210
Median (50th)	$26.05	$54,180
75th percentile	$30.80	$64,060
90th percentile	$37.17	$77,310

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

How Ann Arbor, MI compares

Ann Arbor ranks 2nd of 16 Michigan metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Ann Arbor area than nationally: 1.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.37 times the U.S. share.

Other Michigan metro areas

Other trades in Ann Arbor, MI

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Ann Arbor or Detroit?: Ann Arbor pays more: the median is $54,180 in Ann Arbor and $51,810 in Detroit, 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 11460 (Ann Arbor, MI). 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 (100.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures