Do welders make more in Sioux Falls or Sioux City?

Sioux City pays more: the median is $55,200 in Sioux Falls and $58,230 in Sioux City, a 5% difference.

Welder salary in Sioux Falls, SD-MN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Sioux Falls, SD-MN area earn a median of $55,200 a year, or $26.54 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $80,120. That's 12% more than the South Dakota median of $49,440.

Median yearly pay$55,200

Bottom 10% under$40,140Top 10% over$80,120

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $19.30/hr
Jobs in this area: 850
After cost of living: $60,910
Median hourly pay: $26.54/hr
vs U.S. median: +3%
vs South Dakota median: +12%
Mean (average) pay: $57,080 a year · $27.44 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 43620, Sioux Falls, SD-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 Sioux Falls, SD-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	$19.30	$40,140
25th percentile	$22.85	$47,520
Median (50th)	$26.54	$55,200
75th percentile	$30.00	$62,400
90th percentile	$38.52	$80,120

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

How Sioux Falls, SD-MN compares

Sioux Falls ranks 2nd of 3 South Dakota metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are more concentrated in the Sioux Falls area than nationally: 4.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.8 times the U.S. share.

Other South Dakota metro areas

Other trades in Sioux Falls, SD-MN

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Sioux Falls or Sioux City?: Sioux City pays more: the median is $55,200 in Sioux Falls and $58,230 in Sioux City, a 5% 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 43620 (Sioux Falls, SD-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 (90.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures