Do welders make more in Richmond or Virginia Beach?

Virginia Beach pays more: the median is $57,710 in Richmond and $62,670 in Virginia Beach, a 8% difference.

Welder salary in Richmond, VA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Richmond, VA area earn a median of $57,710 a year, or $27.74 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $83,920. Statewide, welders earn a median of $59,180; Richmond is 2% below it.

Median yearly pay$57,710

Bottom 10% under$42,950Top 10% over$83,920

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $20.65/hr
Jobs in this area: 1,260
After cost of living: $58,970
Median hourly pay: $27.74/hr
vs U.S. median: +7%
vs Virginia median: −2%
Mean (average) pay: $59,720 a year · $28.71 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 40060, Richmond, VA). 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 Richmond, VA 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	$20.65	$42,950
25th percentile	$23.36	$48,600
Median (50th)	$27.74	$57,710
75th percentile	$31.97	$66,490
90th percentile	$40.35	$83,920

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

How Richmond, VA compares

Richmond ranks 4th of 11 Virginia metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Richmond area than nationally: 1.9 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.71 times the U.S. share.

Other Virginia metro areas

Other trades in Richmond, VA

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

Questions

Do welders make more in Richmond or Virginia Beach?: Virginia Beach pays more: the median is $57,710 in Richmond and $62,670 in Virginia Beach, a 8% 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 40060 (Richmond, VA). 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 (97.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures