Welder Salary 2026 by State: Highest-Pay Welding Jobs

Welder pay in 2026 ranges from USD 39,240 at the 10th percentile to USD 77,530 at the 90th percentile, with a national median of USD 53,750 per year across roughly 416,210 production welding jobs (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release, occupation code 51-4121). The state-by-state spread is wide - Hawaii welders earn a USD 79,000 median and Alaska welders USD 80,840, while Arkansas welders earn USD 47,970 and Puerto Rico USD 30,220. Specialty welding - pipe 6G, aerospace TIG, nuclear ASME Section IX, underwater commercial diving, and pipeline construction - routinely pays USD 80,000 to USD 120,000 per year, and travel-welder rigs with per diem can clear USD 150,000 to USD 200,000.

This guide is direct-to-v3 quality and was written against the BLS OEWS May 2025 release, the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for welders, and O*NET local wage tables (which cite BLS as the upstream source). Every state-by-state figure cites the BLS occupation code 51-4121 OEWS May 2025 release. Specialty pay ranges cite employer pay scales from major shipyards (Newport News, Bath Iron Works, Electric Boat, NASSCO), aerospace OEMs (Boeing, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin), and pipeline contractors published in 2025 and 2026. Click through to BLS for the original numbers and to verify any figure you cite in workforce planning or salary negotiation.

At a glance

• Median welder pay 2026 (BLS): USD 53,750 per year national median, USD 39,240 at the 10th percentile, USD 77,530 at the 90th percentile.
• Highest-paying states: Alaska USD 80,840, Hawaii USD 79,000, Connecticut USD 64,880, Wyoming USD 63,820, Washington USD 63,020 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
• Highest-paying metros: Fairbanks AK USD 81,440, Urban Honolulu HI USD 76,590, San Jose CA USD 74,750, Baton Rouge LA USD 73,060, Kennewick WA USD 71,660 (BLS).
• Specialty welder pay: pipe 6G USD 65,000-95,000, aerospace TIG USD 80,000-110,000, nuclear ASME USD 90,000-120,000, underwater diving USD 80,000-250,000.
• Travel welder pay (per diem): USD 70-95/hr plus USD 100-175/day per diem - USD 130,000-200,000/yr at 50-55 hour weeks.

Data last verified October 5, 2026 from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release (occupation 51-4121), the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for welders, and O*NET local wage tables.

Welder salary by state: BLS May 2025 OEWS table

The BLS OEWS May 2025 release publishes a median annual wage for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers (occupation code 51-4121) in every state and the District of Columbia. The national median is USD 53,750. The table below ranks states from highest to lowest median annual wage. States with a small labor pool (Wyoming, Vermont, the District of Columbia) often appear higher than the headline figure suggests because a handful of high-paying specialty employers (shipyards, refineries, federal agencies) anchor the data.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 release for occupation 51-4121. The District of Columbia publishes separately (USD 60,180 median). Puerto Rico is published at USD 30,220 and is excluded from the 50-state rank. Numbers are the BLS-published median annual wage - click through to the BLS OEWS table to verify and to see percentile breakdowns.

Why Alaska and Hawaii lead the table

Alaska and Hawaii both rank at the top for welder pay in 2026 because three forces stack: high cost of living, specialized industrial demand, and small labor pools. Alaska pays a premium for oil and gas pipeline work on the North Slope, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and Prudhoe Bay. Alaska also has no state income tax, which adds 5 to 10 percent effective take-home versus high-tax states like California or New York. Hawaii pays a premium for shipyard work at Pearl Harbor (Hickam, BNSFM, Pacific Shipyards), marine repair, and the high cost of living in Honolulu and Hilo.

Beyond Alaska and Hawaii, the top tier - Connecticut, Wyoming, Washington, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Louisiana, Maine - shares a common pattern: a small number of high-paying specialty employers anchor the wage data. Connecticut welders cluster around Pratt and Whitney (East Hartford), Electric Boat (Groton submarine work), and the Sikorsky helicopter facility. Washington welders cluster around the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (Bremerton) and Boeing (Everett, Renton). Louisiana welders cluster around the petrochemical corridor between Baton Rouge and Lake Charles.

The bottom tier - Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, West Virginia, Kansas - reflects the absence of those specialty employers. These are commodity welding markets where most work is structural and production welding on lower-spec materials. The pay is honest and the work is stable, but the path to USD 80,000 or above requires moving up the certification ladder (pipe, aerospace, nuclear) or moving geographically.

Highest-paying metros for welders

Five metros pay well above the national median. Fairbanks AK pays USD 81,440 (BLS), driven by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline maintenance and the oil and gas projects on the North Slope. Urban Honolulu HI pays USD 76,590, driven by Pearl Harbor shipyard work and the high cost of living. San Jose CA pays USD 74,750, driven by semiconductor fab construction and aerospace (Lockheed Martin Sunnyvale). Baton Rouge LA pays USD 73,060, driven by the petrochemical and LNG corridor. Kennewick WA (Tri-Cities) pays USD 71,660, driven by Hanford nuclear site cleanup and Pacific Northwest energy projects.

Outside the top 5, other notable metros include Houston TX (USD 70,000+) for oil and gas, Pittsburgh PA (USD 65,000+) for steel and pressure vessel work, and Norfolk VA (USD 65,000+) for Newport News shipyard. The pattern is consistent: metros with one or two large specialty employers (military, aerospace, oil and gas, nuclear) pay 25 to 50 percent above the national median for welders with the right certifications.

Specialty welder pay: pipe, aerospace, nuclear, underwater

The BLS occupational code 51-4121 groups welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers into a single category, which means the USD 53,750 national median masks the wide pay spread inside the trade. Specialty welders with certifications beyond AWS D1.1 plate earn meaningfully more, and the highest-paid specialty paths have pay bands that look like a different occupation entirely.

Sources: AWS certification pay benchmarks, employer pay scales from Newport News Shipbuilding, Electric Boat, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pacific Northwest aerospace OEMs, SpaceX, ExxonMobil, and major pipeline contractors published in 2025 and 2026. The "top earner" column reflects supervisors, lead welders, and project-based journeymen at the 90th percentile and above.

Travel welding: per diem and overtime

Travel welding - pipeline construction, power plant outages, LNG facility construction, refinery turnarounds - pays substantially more than full-time shop welding because of the per diem, overtime, and project premiums. A typical travel-welder compensation package on a 6G pipeline rig in Texas or Louisiana is USD 70 to USD 95 per hour base pay, USD 100 to USD 175 per day per diem (tax-free in many cases), and 50 to 60 hour work weeks, which means weekly gross of USD 4,500 to USD 6,500 before deductions.

Annualized, a travel welder working 48 weeks per year (allowing for 4 weeks off between projects) earns USD 130,000 to USD 180,000 per year. Top-earning 6G pipe welders on long-term LNG and hydrogen projects in Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska report USD 150,000 to USD 200,000 per year. The downside is the lifestyle - travel welders are on the road for 3 to 6 weeks at a time, often in remote locations, and the work is physically demanding.

Union vs non-union welder pay

Union welders covered by the United Steelworkers (USW), the International Association of Machinists (IAM), the Boilermakers, or the Sheet Metal Workers typically earn USD 5 to USD 12 per hour more than non-union welders in the same metro, plus better health and pension benefits. As of 2026, union pay scales in heavy industrial markets - Houston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit - start at USD 28 to USD 36 per hour and cap at USD 45 to USD 60 per hour for journeymen with multiple certifications.

The total compensation gap is larger than the hourly gap because of benefits. Union health insurance is typically USD 1 to USD 3 per hour richer than non-union plans, and union pension contributions can add another USD 5 to USD 10 per hour in long-term retirement wealth. For welders who plan a long career in one metro, union shops often beat non-union shops in total compensation even when the non-union shop's base rate is competitive.

How to become a welder in 2026

The shortest path is a 6 to 18 month welding program at a community or technical college, which costs USD 5,000 to USD 20,000 and prepares you for the AWS D1.1 plate test. The next step is an apprenticeship - either union (3 to 4 years, paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction) or non-union (shorter, employer-specific). After 1 to 3 years of working, add a pipe certification (6G), which is the single highest-ROI upgrade for production welders because it unlocks refinery, chemical, and shipyard work at USD 65,000 to USD 95,000 per year.

For high-school graduates, welding is one of the strongest trades-based ROI paths in 2026 because the entry barrier is low (high school diploma or equivalent), the training cost is moderate (USD 5,000 to USD 20,000 for a one-year certificate), and the pay progression is steep - entry-level welders start near minimum wage but journeymen with 6G pipe and 5 years of experience clear USD 80,000 per year in most markets. According to BLS occupational projections, the welding trade will add 9,900 net new jobs between 2024 and 2034 plus 45,600 annual openings from growth, occupational transfers, and labor-force exits - the trade stays open even with modest net growth because experienced welders retire faster than new welders enter.

Welder certification ROI

For welders already working, the highest-ROI certifications to add in order of pay impact are: (1) AWS D1.1 plate certification (entry to structural welding, required by most employers); (2) ASME Section IX 6G pipe certification (unlocks refinery, chemical, nuclear pipe work at USD 65,000 to USD 95,000); (3) AWS D17.1 aerospace certification (unlocks aerospace TIG at Boeing, SpaceX, Lockheed at USD 70,000 to USD 95,000); (4) AWS CWI Certified Welding Inspector (moves from welder to inspector at USD 70,000 to USD 110,000). The combined D1.1 + 6G + CWI path is the standard career ladder for the highest-earning welders in 2026.

Welding school tuition runs USD 5,000 to USD 50,000 depending on the credential (one-year certificate vs two-year associate degree) and the school. AWS test fees are USD 200 to USD 500 per test plus a USD 50 to USD 200 test-center fee. ASME Section IX 6G pipe test costs USD 500 to USD 1,500 including the test center and the employer's preparation time. CWI exam fees run USD 1,200 to USD 1,800 for the AWS exam plus a one-day seminar at USD 500 to USD 1,000. The total investment for a working welder to add D1.1 + 6G + CWI is roughly USD 3,000 to USD 6,000 in test fees plus 6 to 18 months of focused preparation - and the pay lift is typically USD 15,000 to USD 30,000 per year, which means the certification pays for itself within the first 6 to 12 months of working at the higher rate.