How much do welders make an hour in Missoula, MT?

The median hourly wage is $22.94. The middle half earn between $22.55 and $27.31 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice welders make in Missoula, MT?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $18.85 an hour ($39,210 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.55.

Do welders make more in Missoula or Bozeman?

Bozeman pays more: the median is $47,720 in Missoula and $59,140 in Bozeman, a 19% difference.

How does Missoula pay compare with the rest of Montana?

The Missoula median of $47,720 is 14% less than the Montana median of $55,610.

Welder salary in Missoula, MT

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Missoula, MT area earn a median of $47,720 a year, or $22.94 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $69,770. That's 14% less than the Montana median of $55,610.

Median yearly pay$47,720

Bottom 10% under$39,210Top 10% over$69,770

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $18.85/hr
Jobs in this area: 160
After cost of living: $49,480
Median hourly pay: $22.94/hr
vs U.S. median: −11%
vs Montana median: −14%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 33540, Missoula, 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	$39,210–$46,900$18.85–$22.55/hr
Experienced welder	$47,720$22.94/hr
Top earners	$56,790–$69,770$27.31–$33.54/hr

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

How Missoula, MT compares

Missoula has the lowest welder median of the 4 Montana metro areas with published pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Missoula area than nationally: 2.4 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.89 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $69,770, is 1.8 times the 10th-percentile wage, $39,210: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Montana metro areas

Other trades in Missoula, MT

Electrician HVAC technician Plumber

Questions

How much do welders make in Missoula, MT?: Welders in the Missoula, MT area earn a median of $47,720 a year, or $22.94 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $69,770.
How much do welders make an hour in Missoula, MT?: The median hourly wage is $22.94. The middle half earn between $22.55 and $27.31 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice welders make in Missoula, MT?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $18.85 an hour ($39,210 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.55.
Do welders make more in Missoula or Bozeman?: Bozeman pays more: the median is $47,720 in Missoula and $59,140 in Bozeman, a 19% difference.
How does Missoula pay compare with the rest of Montana?: The Missoula median of $47,720 is 14% less than 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 33540 (Missoula, 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 (96.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures