Welder salary
What a welder actually earns, from 894 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 2026-09-07.
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 53,649 dollars, with the typical middle running from 44,261 dollars to 65,000 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. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is plumber, at 17 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.
- Metallbauer/in MAG-Schweisser mit Hallenkranprüfung at fachkraft.ch GmbHSt. Gallen, St. Gallen, SwitzerlandTodayApply
- Metallbauer/in MAG-Schweisser mit Hallenkranprüfung at Stellentreff St. Gallen AGSt. Gallen, St. Gallen, SwitzerlandTodayApply
- Schweißer/ Konstruktionsmechaniker/ Schlosser (m/w/d) als Teamleiter im Bereich Anarbeitung Metall- und Anlagenbau Freit at VEAXO UnternehmensgruppeFreital, Sachsen, Deutschland2d agoApply
Per Diem Pipe Welder at AerotekCocoa, FL2d agoApply- Schweisser MIG/MAG - in Tägerwilen - Copy at Work24.com AgKreuzlingen, Thurgau, Switzerland2d agoApply
Soudeur 121 H/F at Pemsa SASuisse, Switzerland2d agoApply
By country
- United States$44,261$53,649$65,000
- United Kingdom$44,990$47,802$54,074
- Canada$40,605$45,529$53,937
- Australia$57,650$63,055$72,494
Switzerland · official wage bands
median CHF 6'394/month
Swiss postings do not state pay, so these are not posted salaries: they are the federal wage survey (Lohnstrukturerhebung 2024) for the ISCO group 72 Metallarbeiter, Mechaniker, Polymechaniker, Produktionsmechaniker und verwandte Berufe: standardized gross monthly, full-time, 13th salary included pro rata. The band covers the whole occupation group, which is coarser than this occupation alone.
Annual ≈ CHF 76'728 at the median. Source: Bundesamt für Statistik, LSE 2024.
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Hawaii$76,970
- Washington$61,730
- Maine$58,340
- California$57,940
- Vermont$57,520
- Virginia$57,350
Roles that pay more, that these skills already reach
Median pay from each destination’s own postings, with the readiness a welder profile already covers.
- 600 open automotive technician roles$73,492 median · +$19,843 · 30% readiness
- 600 open plumber roles$70,905 median · +$17,256 · 17% readiness
- 5 open robotics technician roles$65,520 median · +$11,871 · 19% readiness
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Related salaries
- Plumber salary$70,905 median
- Automotive Technician salary$73,492 median
- Robotics Technician salary$65,520 median
Quick answers
How much does a welder make?
The blended US median is about 53,649 dollars, with a typical range from 44,261 dollars to 65,000 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 51,000 dollars.
What can a welder move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is plumber, at 17 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 894 observations, 2026-09-07. Definitions in the glossary.