Do welders make more in Rochester or New York?

New York pays more: the median is $57,130 in Rochester and $61,680 in New York, a 7% difference.

Welder salary in Rochester, NY

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Rochester, NY area earn a median of $57,130 a year, or $27.47 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $70,520. That's 3% less than the New York median of $59,140.

Median yearly pay$57,130

Bottom 10% under$38,800Top 10% over$70,520

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $18.66/hr
Jobs in this area: 650
After cost of living: $58,880
Median hourly pay: $27.47/hr
vs U.S. median: +6%
vs New York median: −3%
Mean (average) pay: $55,910 a year · $26.88 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 40380, Rochester, NY). 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, NY 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	$18.66	$38,800
25th percentile	$22.89	$47,620
Median (50th)	$27.47	$57,130
75th percentile	$30.11	$62,630
90th percentile	$33.91	$70,520

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

How Rochester, NY compares

Rochester ranks 6th of 12 New York metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Rochester area than nationally: 1.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.49 times the U.S. share.

Other New York metro areas

Other trades in Rochester, NY

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Rochester or New York?: New York pays more: the median is $57,130 in Rochester and $61,680 in New York, a 7% 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 40380 (Rochester, NY). 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 (97.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures