October 2026
2026 Welder Pay Guide
What US employers are offering welders, broken down by state, city, specialty, and career stage. Based on a sample of ~8,000 welding job postings that listed pay, April–October 2026.
$26.50/hr
National median offer
$55,100
Annualized, full-time
~8,000
Postings analyzed
What’s inside
- Median advertised wages by welding process, role, industry, and career stage
- State-by-state pay rankings for markets with enough data
- City-level medians where sample sizes support it
- A comparison with Bureau of Labor Statistics welder wage data
- Methodology notes on how postings were cleaned and counted
Who it’s for
Welders comparing offers, shops setting pay bands, trade schools advising students, and journalists covering skilled-trades compensation. Journalists and educators may republish charts or figures with attribution and a link back to this page.
Related
Browse live pay figures by location on our welding salary pages, or look at open roles on welding jobs.