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Welder salary

Average welder salary

$39,696

$19.08 hourly rate

Entry-level welder salary
$29,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a welder make?

The average welder salary in the United States is $39,696. Welder salaries typically range between $29,000 and $54,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for welders is $19.08 per hour.

Welder salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Welders earn the highest average salary in Massachusetts.

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Where can a Welder earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
67k
47k
27k
7k
Ashburn, VA$52,906
Knoxville, TN$36,591
Compare salary by company
Vs
110k
90k
70k
50k
30k
California Resources$92,635
Fluor Corporation$60,481

Welder Salaries By Experience Level

Experience LevelAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
Entry-level welder$27,100$13.04
Mid-level welder$37,900$18.23
Senior-level welder$58,000$27.87

Welder salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, SalaryExpert and CareerExplorer, the average salary for a welder typically falls between $39,696 and $100,000.
zippia
$39,696yearly
glassdoor[1]
$57,128yearly
indeed[2]
$100,000yearly
SalaryExpert[3]
$59,322yearly
CareerExplorer[4]
$47,010yearly

Average welder salary by state

The average welder salary in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Alaska are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average welder salary states are Montana, Florida, and Kentucky.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for welders

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1Maine$47,753$22.96
2Alaska$49,549$23.82
3Rhode Island$47,640$22.90
4North Dakota$42,656$20.51
5Massachusetts$53,090$25.52
6Wyoming$48,842$23.48
7Louisiana$43,943$21.13
8Delaware$49,500$23.80
9Washington$44,917$21.59
10Oregon$43,411$20.87
11Wisconsin$41,112$19.77
12Vermont$46,496$22.35
13New Jersey$50,543$24.30
14Pennsylvania$42,878$20.61
15Connecticut$48,073$23.11
16Nevada$43,643$20.98
17Minnesota$39,960$19.21
18New York$45,824$22.03
19Arizona$42,066$20.22
20Maryland$46,542$22.38
21New Hampshire$44,265$21.28
22New Mexico$42,594$20.48
23Mississippi$37,679$18.11
24Indiana$37,186$17.88
25West Virginia$40,569$19.50
26Iowa$36,252$17.43
27California$44,031$21.17
28South Carolina$38,314$18.42
29Virginia$41,616$20.01
30Oklahoma$37,279$17.92
31Ohio$36,920$17.75
32Tennessee$36,339$17.47
33Michigan$37,290$17.93
34Colorado$40,994$19.71
35Texas$38,153$18.34
36Utah$38,098$18.32
37South Dakota$35,068$16.86
38Missouri$36,345$17.47
39Illinois$37,438$18.00
40North Carolina$37,440$18.00
41District of Columbia$43,056$20.70
42Kentucky$34,707$16.69
43Nebraska$34,569$16.62
44Kansas$35,265$16.95
45Alabama$35,546$17.09
46Hawaii$37,678$18.11
47Montana$35,056$16.85
48Georgia$34,681$16.67
49Arkansas$33,461$16.09
50Idaho$35,431$17.03
51Florida$34,810$16.74

Highest paying cities for welders

The highest-paying cities for welders are Woburn, MA, Portland, ME, and Richmond, CA.

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1Woburn, MA$52,906$25.44
2Portland, ME$48,366$23.25
3Richmond, CA$46,017$22.12
4New York, NY$45,922$22.08
5Eugene, OR$44,247$21.27
6Albuquerque, NM$42,754$20.55
7Lancaster, PA$42,402$20.39
8Phoenix, AZ$42,232$20.30
9Green Bay, WI$41,743$20.07
10Richmond, VA$41,374$19.89
11Denver, CO$40,939$19.68
12Minneapolis, MN$39,998$19.23
13Youngstown, OH$38,601$18.56
14San Antonio, TX$38,207$18.37
15Fort Wayne, IN$37,983$18.26
16Salt Lake City, UT$37,810$18.18
17Oklahoma City, OK$37,501$18.03
18Charlotte, NC$37,050$17.81
19Saint Louis, MO$36,708$17.65
20Knoxville, TN$36,591$17.59

Welders are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Woburn, MA
  2. New York, NY
  3. Eugene, OR
  4. Albuquerque, NM
  5. Lancaster, PA

Welder salary details

A welder's salary ranges from $29,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $54,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Welder Salary Graph
Average Welder Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a welder's salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$54,000$4,500$26
75th Percentile$46,000$3,833$22
Average$39,696$3,308$19
25th Percentile$33,000$2,750$16
10th Percentile$29,000$2,417$14

Highest paying welder jobs

The highest paying types of welders are welding supervisor, pipefitter/welder, and combo welder.

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Fabricator$34,922$2,910$16.797,772
Saw Operator$32,319$2,693$15.5458,465
Ship Fitter$45,247$3,771$21.759,742
Metal Fabricator$38,047$3,171$18.294,868
Grinder$33,001$2,750$15.873,409
Maintenance Welder$40,659$3,388$19.5578,332

Which companies pay welders the most?

Welder salaries at California Resources and Nabors Industries are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average welder salary at companies like Hess and Datamatics are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1California Resources$92,635$44.54
2Nabors Industries$83,306$40.05
3Hess$77,143$37.09
4Datamatics$76,908$36.98
5Westinghouse Appliances Australia$76,764$36.91
6Los Alamos National Laboratory$70,641$33.96
7BWX Technologies$70,380$33.84
8Apache$67,785$32.59
9Forum Energy Technologies$66,559$32.00
10ABB$66,203$31.83
11Plug Power$65,668$31.57
12Halliburton$64,789$31.15
13Applied Materials$63,570$30.56
14Exterran Corporation HQ$63,519$30.54
15City of Los Angeles$63,490$30.52
16Baker Hughes$63,185$30.38
17Smiths Group$62,689$30.14
18Ranger Energy Services$60,788$29.23
19MDU Resources$60,785$29.22
20Fluor Corporation$60,481$29.08

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$40,000$38,600$37,200$35,800$34,400$33,000
MaleFemale

Welder salary by industry

The average welder salary varies across industries:

  • The average welder salary in the automotive industry is $45,059, the highest of any industry.
  • The average welder salary in the finance industry is $44,367.
  • Welders in the transportation industry earn an average salary of $38,765, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for welders

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Automotive$45,059$21.66
2Energy$44,367$21.33
3Technology$43,526$20.93
4Construction$42,608$20.48
5Professional$41,081$19.75
6Manufacturing$40,294$19.37
7Retail$39,646$19.06
8Transportation$38,765$18.64

High Paying Welder Jobs

Welder salary trends

The average welder salary has risen by $7,429 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average welder earned $32,267 annually, but today, they earn $39,696 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for welders over the last decade.

Compare welder salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average welder salary over time

Compare welder salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Welder salary by year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2025$39,700$19.08+3.8%
    2024$38,200$18.35+2.6%
    2023$37,200$17.87+2.8%
    2022$36,100$17.38+2.1%
    2021$35,400$17.01+3.1%

    Recently added welder salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Tyson FoodsWelder/Fabrication Tech Maintenance A Shift NewCumming, GA12/17/2024$18,000
    United AirlinesBase Specialty Welder Signing Bonus)San Francisco, CA12/17/2024$79,786
    Valmont Industries, Inc.WelderClaremore, OK12/17/2024$51,111
    Advance ServicesWelder-2Nd ShiftColumbus, NE12/17/2024$38,610
    TPI StaffingWelderKaty, TX12/17/2024$60,523
    QPS Employment GroupSkilled-WelderRockford, IL12/17/2024$37,566
    Town of BarnstableMechanic/WelderBarnstable Town, MA12/17/2024$63,495
    Fremont Economic Development CorporationWelder/Fabricator ARY CorporationBoone, CO12/17/2024$37,566
    TalentlogistixWelderMadison, IN12/17/2024$41,740
    Oshkosh CorpWelder-1ST ShiftMurfreesboro, TN12/16/2024$43,827

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