Do welders make more in Columbia or St. Joseph?

St. Joseph pays more: the median is $52,700 in Columbia and $66,060 in St. Joseph, a 20% difference.

Welder salary in Columbia, MO

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Columbia, MO area earn a median of $52,700 a year, or $25.34 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $59,020. Statewide, welders earn a median of $51,950; Columbia is 1% above it.

Median yearly pay$52,700

Bottom 10% under$40,250Top 10% over$59,020

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $19.35/hr
Jobs in this area: 200
After cost of living: $58,920
Median hourly pay: $25.34/hr
vs U.S. median: −2%
vs Missouri median: +1%
Mean (average) pay: $51,300 a year · $24.66 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 17860, Columbia, MO). 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 Columbia, MO 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	$19.35	$40,250
25th percentile	$22.72	$47,250
Median (50th)	$25.34	$52,700
75th percentile	$25.34	$52,700
90th percentile	$28.38	$59,020

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

How Columbia, MO compares

Columbia ranks 4th of 8 Missouri metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Columbia area than nationally: 1.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.69 times the U.S. share.

Other Missouri metro areas

Other trades in Columbia, MO

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Columbia or St. Joseph?: St. Joseph pays more: the median is $52,700 in Columbia and $66,060 in St. Joseph, a 20% 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 17860 (Columbia, MO). 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 (89.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures