Welder salary
What a welder actually earns, from 584 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-07-23.
Switch the market above to see welder pay in the 4 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
A welder earns a blended US median near 56,084 dollars, with the typical middle running from 45,045 dollars to 62,359 dollars. The official OEWS median is 51,000 dollars, under the posted figure, because the advertised roles skew senior or well-funded. The official trend has moved up about 20 percent since 2019. Demand is rated high, and 0% of postings are fully remote. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is plumber, at 61 percent coverage; the instrument maps the rest.
Open welder roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
- Structural WelderSpaceX · Brownsville, TXJul 20
- WELDER LEADERUnited States Fleet Forces Command · Naval Business Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$75k–$88kJul 16
- WELDERNaval Air Systems Command · Naval Air Station San Diego, California$81k–$95kJul 10
- Welder (Title 32) (Permanent)Army National Guard Units · Richmond, Virginia$66k–$77kJun 30
- TIG Welder (Starship Components) - 2nd ShiftSpaceX · El Segundo, CAJun 26
- Staff Technician, Welder (R5113)Shieldai · Dallas, Texas$71k–$106kJun 11
By country
- United States$45,045 – $62,359 · median $56,084
- Canada$39,315 – $49,700 · median $43,024
- United Kingdom$44,998 – $53,774 · median $48,771
- Australia$55,796 – $72,172 · median $57,540
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Washingtonmedian $61,730
- Californiamedian $57,940
- Virginiamedian $57,350
- Coloradomedian $57,200
- Pennsylvaniamedian $50,860
- Texasmedian $49,830
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Related salaries
- Plumber salary$74,904 median
- Carpenter salary$53,473 median
- Maintenance Technician salary$47,935 median
Quick answers
How much does a welder make?
The blended US median is about 56,084 dollars, with a typical range from 45,045 dollars to 62,359 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 51,000 dollars.
Is welder a good career in 2026?
Demand for the role is rated high in our July 2026 corpus, with 0% of postings fully remote. The pay is shown above by seniority and by country.
What can a welder move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is plumber, at 61 percent skill coverage. Run the instrument for the full set of reachable moves.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 51-4121. Live corpus 584 observations, 2026-07-23. Definitions in the glossary.