Welder Salary by State (2026)

Name: Welder annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers earn the most in Alaska at $80,840 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $30,220 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $53,750. All 54 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $80,840
National median: $53,750
Lowest median: $30,220
States reporting: 54

Top 5 states for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

1. Alaska$80,840 median · $78,977 adjusted · 790 employed
2. Hawaii$79,000 median · $71,850 adjusted · 520 employed
3. Connecticut$64,880 median · $62,619 adjusted · 1,790 employed
4. Wyoming$63,820 median · $68,852 adjusted · 1,850 employed
5. Washington$63,020 median · $58,890 adjusted · 7,720 employed

Lowest-paying states for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

54. Puerto Rico$30,220 median · no price parity · 1,680 employed
53. Guam$40,600 median · no price parity · 360 employed
52. U.S. Virgin Islands$46,270 median · no price parity · 60 employed
51. Arkansas$47,970 median · $55,178 adjusted · 6,150 employed
50. Tennessee$48,040 median · $52,291 adjusted · 12,510 employed

Welder salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
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1	Alaska	$80,840	$61,280	$98,500	790	$78,977
2	Hawaii	$79,000	$63,030	$90,830	520	$71,850
3	Connecticut	$64,880	$49,240	$81,590	1,790	$62,619
4	Wyoming	$63,820	$56,380	$78,890	1,850	$68,852
5	Washington	$63,020	$54,740	$73,650	7,720	$58,890
6	Massachusetts	$62,570	$53,680	$74,050	2,830	$59,164
7	New Hampshire	$62,360	$50,620	$74,420	1,110	$59,867
8	Louisiana	$62,250	$50,680	$77,310	13,690	$70,573
9	Maine	$62,220	$51,800	$69,130	1,690	$64,111
10	North Dakota	$62,000	$54,660	$72,560	2,590	$69,695
11	Nevada	$61,520	$48,700	$76,670	1,600	$61,533
12	Vermont	$60,890	$51,190	$65,490	340	$62,159
13	Maryland	$60,310	$48,150	$77,810	2,850	$57,461
14	Minnesota	$60,280	$50,960	$65,410	9,270	$61,123
15	District of Columbia	$60,180	$50,110	$75,580	280	$54,758
16	New Mexico	$59,840	$44,750	$82,550	2,390	$64,894
17	Oregon	$59,450	$49,690	$66,570	5,240	$57,517
18	New Jersey	$59,440	$49,870	$71,060	3,730	$54,630
19	Virginia	$59,180	$49,020	$65,400	10,100	$58,534
20	New York	$59,140	$49,050	$71,960	8,310	$54,799
21	Colorado	$58,590	$47,860	$69,540	4,970	$56,855
22	Wisconsin	$58,410	$50,320	$62,220	15,320	$62,076
23	Utah	$58,380	$48,580	$66,870	4,440	$59,051
24	California	$58,060	$48,480	$70,400	26,060	$52,439
25	Delaware	$57,270	$49,830	$61,630	600	$57,380
26	Montana	$55,610	$47,590	$63,520	1,530	$58,756
27	Arizona	$55,600	$48,000	$65,660	7,270	$55,226
28	Iowa	$55,090	$48,250	$60,200	9,270	$62,772
29	Texas	$53,340	$45,750	$64,770	52,000	$54,957
30	Pennsylvania	$52,900	$47,240	$61,920	17,850	$54,216
31	Nebraska	$52,220	$47,830	$61,810	4,200	$57,956
32	Missouri	$51,950	$45,930	$61,660	10,600	$57,203
33	Kentucky	$51,470	$46,380	$59,900	6,630	$57,088
34	Illinois	$51,320	$46,500	$61,520	16,260	$51,342
35	Mississippi	$51,100	$41,000	$63,440	6,460	$58,767
36	Florida	$50,640	$46,460	$60,600	16,420	$48,968
37	North Carolina	$50,590	$45,400	$60,870	11,750	$53,633
38	Rhode Island	$50,580	$50,580	$68,260	2,300	$49,452
39	Idaho	$50,530	$46,120	$59,350	3,300	$52,914
40	Ohio	$50,340	$45,750	$59,510	20,330	$54,261
41	Michigan	$49,990	$46,520	$59,190	13,330	$51,955
42	South Carolina	$49,980	$45,230	$58,370	7,380	$53,313
43	Indiana	$49,730	$45,620	$60,710	13,280	$53,285
44	Oklahoma	$49,720	$44,920	$60,790	9,960	$56,601
45	South Dakota	$49,440	$45,710	$59,360	3,250	$55,810
46	Kansas	$49,410	$45,210	$59,200	6,370	$54,859
47	West Virginia	$48,810	$39,900	$60,170	2,100	$54,538
48	Alabama	$48,490	$40,080	$60,120	12,450	$54,592
49	Georgia	$48,430	$44,150	$58,240	13,130	$50,294
50	Tennessee	$48,040	$41,600	$57,450	12,510	$52,291
51	Arkansas	$47,970	$42,950	$55,280	6,150	$55,178
52	U.S. Virgin Islands	$46,270	$45,090	$72,170	60	N/A
53	Guam	$40,600	$40,520	$44,580	360	N/A
54	Puerto Rico	$30,220	$27,660	$33,840	1,680	N/A

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers, that changes the ranking: Alaska leads on raw pay at $80,840, while Alaska leads once prices are taken into account at $78,977.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Welder pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers the most?

Alaska reports the highest median wage for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers at $80,840 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Hawaii ($79,000) and Connecticut ($64,880).

Which state pays Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers at $30,220 a year, $50,620 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts Alaska first at $78,977 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $80,840. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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