State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Welder Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers is $53,750 a year ($25.84/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to grow 2.2% through 2034, with about 45,600 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
SOC 51-4121ProductionLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $53,750
- Projected growth
- +2.2%
- Openings a year
- 45,600
- Typical education
- High school
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Assembly Line Brazer, Brazer, Fabrication Welder, Maintenance Welder, MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder), Solderer.
How much do Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers make?
10th percentile$39,240
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$46,790
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$53,750
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$63,010
Upper quartile
90th percentile$77,530
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $53,750 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $25.84/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $56,760 |
| People employed | 416,210 |
Versus all US occupations
At $53,750, Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers earn 5% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $2,770 a year.
Versus production occupations
Inside the Production group, where the middle occupation pays $47,920, this is 12% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $77,530 or more while the bottom 10% earn $39,240, a gap of 2.0×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 35% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Alaska pays the most at $80,840, and still leads at $78,977 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $80,840 | $78,977 | 790 |
| Hawaii | $79,000 | $71,850 | 520 |
| Connecticut | $64,880 | $62,619 | 1,790 |
| Wyoming | $63,820 | $68,852 | 1,850 |
| Washington | $63,020 | $58,890 | 7,720 |
| Massachusetts | $62,570 | $59,164 | 2,830 |
| New Hampshire | $62,360 | $59,867 | 1,110 |
| Louisiana | $62,250 | $70,573 | 13,690 |
| Maine | $62,220 | $64,111 | 1,690 |
| North Dakota | $62,000 | $69,695 | 2,590 |
Is Welder a growing career?
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers2.2%
All US occupations3.1%
+2.2% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
About as fast as average
BLS projects employment of Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers to change 2.2% over 2024–2034, against 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 9,900 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 45,600 openings are projected each year, 10.0% of the 457,300 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Despite limited employment growth, about 45,600 openings for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
The nation’s aging infrastructure will require the expertise of welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers to help rebuild bridges, highways, and buildings. These workers also will be needed in manufacturing plants, such as those that produce metal products and machinery. However, automation in manufacturing may limit overall demand for these workers.
How to become a Welder
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers typically need a high school diploma or equivalent, combined with technical and on-the-job training, to enter the occupation.
| Typical entry-level education | High school diploma or equivalent |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Little or no preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers.
- High School Diploma53.6%
- Less than a High School Diploma20.8%
- Post-Secondary Certificate11.6%
- Some College Courses11.3%
- Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)1.8%
What does a Welder do?
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers use hand-held or remotely controlled equipment to join or cut metal parts. They also fill holes, indentations, or seams in metal products.
Day-to-day tasks
- Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
- Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment.
- Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
- Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
- Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.
- Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools.
- Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.
- Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Where welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers work
| Manufacturing | 61% |
|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors | 8% |
| Self-employed workers | 6% |
| Repair and maintenance | 4% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Monitoring3.0/5
- Critical Thinking2.9/5
- Active Listening2.6/5
- Speaking2.6/5
- Reading Comprehension2.5/5
- Active Learning2.3/5
- Mathematics2.1/5
- Learning Strategies2.0/5
Transferable skills
- Quality Control Analysis3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
- Operations Monitoring2.8/5
- Time Management2.8/5
- Operation and Control2.6/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.5/5
- Troubleshooting2.5/5
- Coordination2.4/5
Tools and software
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Analytical or scientific software
- Calendar and scheduling software
- Computer aided design CAD software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Welder?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realisticprimary7.0
Investigative2.1
Artistic1.4
Social1.1
Enterprising1.5
Conventionalprimary3.6
Day to day this is work built around hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Welder: frequently asked questions
How much do Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers make?
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers earn a median of $53,750 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 5% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $25.84/hr. The middle half earn between $46,790 and $63,010. The top 10% earn $77,530 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Welder?
No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 53.6% hold high school diploma.
Is Welder a growing career?
It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.2% over 2024–2034, about the same as the 3.1% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 45,600 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Welder do?
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers use hand-held or remotely controlled equipment to join or cut metal parts. A core O*NET task: operate safety equipment and use safe work habits. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software, Office suite software.
Which states pay Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers the most?
The highest state medians for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers are Alaska ($80,840), Hawaii ($79,000), Connecticut ($64,880) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Welder?
O*NET scores Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers highest on the Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.