Do welders make more in Rochester or St. Cloud?

St. Cloud pays more: the median is $60,380 in Rochester and $62,820 in St. Cloud, a 4% difference.

Welder salary in Rochester, MN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Rochester, MN area earn a median of $60,380 a year, or $29.03 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $72,350. Statewide, welders earn a median of $60,280; Rochester is right at that level.

Median yearly pay$60,380

Bottom 10% under$48,550Top 10% over$72,350

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $23.34/hr
Jobs in this area: 510
After cost of living: $66,480
Median hourly pay: $29.03/hr
vs U.S. median: +12%
vs Minnesota median: 0%
Mean (average) pay: $59,070 a year · $28.40 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 40340, Rochester, MN). 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 Rochester, MN 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	$23.34	$48,550
25th percentile	$26.41	$54,930
Median (50th)	$29.03	$60,380
75th percentile	$29.19	$60,710
90th percentile	$34.78	$72,350

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

How Rochester, MN compares

Rochester ranks 4th of 9 Minnesota metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Rochester area than nationally: 4.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.6 times the U.S. share.

Other Minnesota metro areas

Other trades in Rochester, MN

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Rochester or St. Cloud?: St. Cloud pays more: the median is $60,380 in Rochester and $62,820 in St. Cloud, a 4% 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 40340 (Rochester, MN). 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 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures