Do welders make more in Erie or Philadelphia?

Philadelphia pays more: the median is $49,180 in Erie and $58,380 in Philadelphia, a 16% difference.

Welder salary in Erie, PA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Erie, PA area earn a median of $49,180 a year, or $23.64 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $83,450. Statewide, welders earn a median of $52,900; Erie is 7% below it.

Median yearly pay$49,180

Bottom 10% under$38,580Top 10% over$83,450

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $18.55/hr
Jobs in this area: 740
After cost of living: $54,070
Median hourly pay: $23.64/hr
vs U.S. median: −9%
vs Pennsylvania median: −7%
Mean (average) pay: $54,860 a year · $26.38 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 21500, Erie, PA). 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 Erie, PA 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	$18.55	$38,580
25th percentile	$22.09	$45,950
Median (50th)	$23.64	$49,180
75th percentile	$28.07	$58,390
90th percentile	$40.12	$83,450

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

How Erie, PA compares

Erie ranks 12th of 16 Pennsylvania metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Erie area than nationally: 6.1 of every 1,000 jobs, 2.3 times the U.S. share.

Other Pennsylvania metro areas

Other trades in Erie, PA

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Erie or Philadelphia?: Philadelphia pays more: the median is $49,180 in Erie and $58,380 in Philadelphia, a 16% 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 21500 (Erie, PA). 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 (91.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures