How much do welders make an hour in Great Falls, MT?

The median hourly wage is $26.79. The middle half earn between $24.29 and $30.71 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Great Falls, MT?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.86 an hour ($47,540 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $24.29.

Do welders make more in Great Falls or Bozeman?

Bozeman pays more: the median is $55,720 in Great Falls and $59,140 in Bozeman, a 6% difference.

How does Great Falls pay compare with the rest of Montana?

The Great Falls median of $55,720 is about the same as the Montana median of $55,610.

Welder salary in Great Falls, MT

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Great Falls, MT area earn a median of $55,720 a year, or $26.79 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $99,570 a year. Across all of Montana, the median is $55,610, so Great Falls pays about the same as the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$55,720

Bottom 10% under$47,540Top 10% over$99,570

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $22.86/hr
Jobs in this area: 120
After cost of living: $57,540
Median hourly pay: $26.79/hr
vs U.S. median: +4%
vs Montana median: 0%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 24500, Great Falls, MT). 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	$47,540–$50,510$22.86–$24.29/hr
Experienced welder	$55,720$26.79/hr
Top earners	$63,880–$99,570$30.71–$47.87/hr

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

How Great Falls, MT compares

Great Falls ranks 2nd of 4 Montana metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Great Falls area than nationally: 3.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $99,570, is 2.1 times the 10th-percentile wage, $47,540: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Montana metro areas

Other trades in Great Falls, MT

Electrician HVAC technician Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Great Falls, MT?: Welders in the Great Falls, MT area earn a median of $55,720 a year, or $26.79 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $99,570 a year.
How much do welders make an hour in Great Falls, MT?: The median hourly wage is $26.79. The middle half earn between $24.29 and $30.71 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Great Falls, MT?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.86 an hour ($47,540 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $24.29.
Do welders make more in Great Falls or Bozeman?: Bozeman pays more: the median is $55,720 in Great Falls and $59,140 in Bozeman, a 6% difference.
How does Great Falls pay compare with the rest of Montana?: The Great Falls median of $55,720 is about the same as the Montana median of $55,610.

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 24500 (Great Falls, MT). 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 (96.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures