Do welders make more in Fargo or Minot?

Minot pays more: the median is $61,140 in Fargo and $62,060 in Minot, a 1% difference.

Welder salary in Fargo, ND-MN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Fargo, ND-MN area earn a median of $61,140 a year, or $29.39 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $74,230 a year. That's 1% less than the North Dakota median of $62,000.

Median yearly pay$61,140

Bottom 10% under$46,660Top 10% over$74,230

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $22.43/hr
Jobs in this area: 690
After cost of living: $67,280
Median hourly pay: $29.39/hr
vs U.S. median: +14%
vs North Dakota median: −1%
Mean (average) pay: $60,270 a year · $28.98 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 22020, Fargo, ND-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 Fargo, ND-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	$22.43	$46,660
25th percentile	$25.13	$52,260
Median (50th)	$29.39	$61,140
75th percentile	$30.83	$64,130
90th percentile	$35.69	$74,230

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

How Fargo, ND-MN compares

Fargo ranks 3rd of 4 North Dakota metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Fargo area than nationally: 4.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.7 times the U.S. share.

Other North Dakota metro areas

Other trades in Fargo, ND-MN

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Fargo or Minot?: Minot pays more: the median is $61,140 in Fargo and $62,060 in Minot, a 1% 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 22020 (Fargo, ND-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 (90.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures