2026 Welding & Fabrication Salary Guide
National and state-level wage benchmarks for the 10 most-recruited welding and fabrication roles, sourced from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics - with every proxy classification labeled, not hidden.
What's inside
- National median wage + growth outlook for all 10 roles, BLS-sourced
- State-by-state wage variation (Hawaii to West Virginia)
- Every proxy classification labeled, never fabricated
- Related pipe-trades context for pipeline welder benchmarking
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Download 2026 Welding & Fabrication Salary GuideWhat the public wage data already says about welding & fabrication pay.
The guide is built from our own placement records. This is the other half - what the federal government published for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers in May 2025, free, before any of our data is added to it.
The eight metros that pay it best.
| Metro | Median | vs national | Employed | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baton Rouge, LA | $78,170 | +45% | 3,690 | 3.36× |
| Hartford, CT | $75,040 | +40% | 670 | 0.42× |
| Seattle, WA | $66,240 | +23% | 3,230 | 0.58× |
| San Francisco, CA | $64,320 | +20% | 1,990 | 0.31× |
| San Jose, CA | $64,140 | +19% | 1,050 | 0.35× |
| Boston, MA | $63,770 | +19% | 2,210 | 0.31× |
| Bridgeport, CT | $63,440 | +18% | 210 | 0.20× |
| New Orleans, LA | $63,270 | +18% | 2,000 | 1.68× |
Concentration is the location quotient: 1.00× is the national rate, 1.40× means the metro has 40% more of these workers per job than the country as a whole.
The same job title pays $78,170 in Baton Rouge and $39,710 in McAllen - $38,460 a year apart. BLS publishes a median for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers in all 100 of the metros we recruit in, so that is the full range and not a selection from it.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Figures are annual, for all employers, not only commercial contractors.
