Welder salary in Texas
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Welders in Texas earn a median of $53,340 a year, or $25.64 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $80,240. Texas ranks 29th of 51 states and DC for welder pay, at 1% less than the U.S. median of $53,750.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $18.45/hr
- Jobs in Texas
- 52,000
- After cost of living
- $54,960
- Median hourly pay
- $25.64/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −1%
- Rank among states
- 29th of 51
- Mean (average) pay
- $56,940 a year · $27.37 an hour
Pay by percentile
What welders in Texas 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 | $18.45 | $38,380 |
| 25th percentile | $21.99 | $45,750 |
| Median (50th) | $25.64 | $53,340 |
| 75th percentile | $31.14 | $64,770 |
| 90th percentile | $38.58 | $80,240 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median welder wage in Texas rose 11.5%, from $47,820 in May 2021 to $53,340 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 6.6%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $47,820 | $22.99/hr |
| May 2022 | $48,180 | $23.16/hr |
| May 2023 | $48,500 | $23.32/hr |
| May 2024 | $49,830 | $23.96/hr |
| May 2025 | $53,340 | $25.64/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How Texas compares
- Welders are more concentrated in Texas than nationally: 3.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.4 times the U.S. share.
Pay by metro area
- Odessa$63,470
- Midland$61,410
- Corpus Christi$59,450
- Beaumont–Port Arthur$59,190
- Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos$59,040
- Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands$57,940
- Amarillo$55,460
- Sherman–Denison$55,020
See all Texas metro areas
- College Station–Bryan$52,800
- Longview$52,300
- Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington$51,630
- Wichita Falls$49,010
- Victoria$48,580
- Killeen–Temple$48,460
- San Antonio–New Braunfels$48,220
- Abilene$48,160
- Lubbock$46,760
- San Angelo$46,440
- Waco$46,380
- Laredo$45,370
- Brownsville–Harlingen$45,020
- El Paso$45,000
- Tyler$43,100
- Texarkana$41,920
- McAllen–Edinburg–Mission$39,710
Rural Texas
- Northwestern Region$56,730
- Coastal Plains Region$56,710
- Hill Country Region$52,540
- Border Region$49,230
- Eastern Region$49,220
- North Region$48,430
Other trades in Texas
Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in Texas list what contractors must pay welders on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.
Questions
- Where in Texas do welders earn the most?
- Among Texas metro areas, Odessa has the highest median at $63,470 a year, and McAllen–Edinburg–Mission the lowest at $39,710.
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 48. 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 (97.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures