Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of welder salary by state for the United States:
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Massachusetts has the highest welder salary of $53,090
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Arkansas has the lowest welder salary of $33,461
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The national average salary for welders is $39,696
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The national hourly pay for welders is $19.08
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do welders get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for welder by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for welders after this adjustment? That would be Massachusetts.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for welder salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Welders By State
| Rank | State | Average Welder Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $53,090 | $35,000 | $79,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $50,543 | $33,000 | $77,000 |
| 3 | Alaska | $49,549 | $39,000 | $62,000 |
| 4 | Delaware | $49,500 | $32,000 | $74,000 |
| 5 | Wyoming | $48,842 | $37,000 | $64,000 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $48,073 | $31,000 | $72,000 |
| 7 | Maine | $47,753 | $32,000 | $69,000 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $47,640 | $31,000 | $71,000 |
| 9 | Maryland | $46,542 | $31,000 | $69,000 |
| 10 | Vermont | $46,496 | $31,000 | $68,000 |
| 11 | New York | $45,824 | $30,000 | $69,000 |
| 12 | Washington | $44,917 | $32,000 | $61,000 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $44,265 | $29,000 | $65,000 |
| 14 | California | $44,031 | $30,000 | $63,000 |
| 15 | Louisiana | $43,943 | $31,000 | $60,000 |
| 16 | Nevada | $43,643 | $30,000 | $62,000 |
| 17 | Oregon | $43,411 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | $42,878 | $28,000 | $64,000 |
| 19 | North Dakota | $42,656 | $32,000 | $56,000 |
| 20 | New Mexico | $42,594 | $31,000 | $58,000 |
| 21 | Arizona | $42,066 | $30,000 | $57,000 |
| 22 | Virginia | $41,616 | $28,000 | $60,000 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $41,112 | $29,000 | $56,000 |
| 24 | Colorado | $40,994 | $30,000 | $54,000 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $40,569 | $28,000 | $58,000 |
| 26 | Minnesota | $39,960 | $29,000 | $53,000 |
| 27 | South Carolina | $38,314 | $27,000 | $53,000 |
| 28 | Texas | $38,153 | $27,000 | $52,000 |
| 29 | Utah | $38,098 | $27,000 | $52,000 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $37,679 | $27,000 | $51,000 |
| 31 | Hawaii | $37,678 | $29,000 | $47,000 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $37,440 | $26,000 | $52,000 |
| 33 | Illinois | $37,438 | $27,000 | $51,000 |
| 34 | Michigan | $37,290 | $26,000 | $53,000 |
| 35 | Oklahoma | $37,279 | $27,000 | $50,000 |
| 36 | Indiana | $37,186 | $26,000 | $51,000 |
| 37 | Ohio | $36,920 | $25,000 | $52,000 |
| 38 | Missouri | $36,345 | $27,000 | $48,000 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $36,339 | $26,000 | $49,000 |
| 40 | Iowa | $36,252 | $27,000 | $48,000 |
| 41 | Alabama | $35,546 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 42 | Idaho | $35,431 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 43 | Kansas | $35,265 | $26,000 | $46,000 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $35,068 | $26,000 | $46,000 |
| 45 | Montana | $35,056 | $26,000 | $46,000 |
| 46 | Florida | $34,810 | $24,000 | $48,000 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $34,707 | $25,000 | $47,000 |
| 48 | Georgia | $34,681 | $25,000 | $47,000 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $34,569 | $26,000 | $45,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $33,461 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
Methodology: Welder Salary By State
To better understand welder pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for welders by state.
We took the average annual salary data for welders from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for welders.
Welder Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for welders?
The highest-paid state for welders is Massachusetts with an average salary of $53,090 per year.
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What city pays welders the most?
Woburn, MA pays welders the most with an average salary of $52,906 per year.
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What is the worst state for welders?
The worst state for welders is Arkansas with an average salary of $33,461 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
