Welders, Cutters & Brazers
The national median wage for welders, cutters & brazers is $47,540 across 427K jobs. After cost of living, Seattle goes furthest at $57,121, and 42 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $62,262 | $57,121 | 2,946 | 7.4 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $63,477 | $56,174 | 3,615 | 8.0 |
| 3 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $56,632 | $56,071 | 3,732 | 6.2 |
| 4 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $59,891 | $55,455 | 4,826 | 9.7 |
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $52,807 | $54,440 | 7,081 | 10.9 |
| 6 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $58,735 | $54,384 | 7,843 | 6.3 |
| 7 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $50,910 | $54,160 | 956 | 6.4 |
| 8 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $54,590 | $54,050 | 3,270 | 10.9 |
| 9 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $52,928 | $53,463 | 8,365 | 10.5 |
| 10 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $51,650 | $52,704 | 3,058 | 8.7 |
| 11 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $53,333 | $52,287 | 449 | 9.0 |
| 12 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $51,714 | $52,236 | 493 | 9.9 |
| 13 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $50,622 | $52,188 | 2,618 | 10.5 |
| 14 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $48,010 | $52,185 | 2,160 | 8.6 |
| 15 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $48,524 | $52,176 | 1,355 | 9.0 |
| 16 | Madison, WI | WI | $48,329 | $51,967 | 505 | 6.7 |
| 17 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $48,543 | $51,641 | 4,182 | 10.5 |
| 18 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $50,607 | $51,640 | 4,519 | 8.2 |
| 19 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $53,462 | $51,406 | 682 | 9.1 |
| 20 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $45,652 | $51,294 | 827 | 11.0 |
| 21 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $49,754 | $51,293 | 6,997 | 10.0 |
| 22 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $47,112 | $51,209 | 1,460 | 7.3 |
| 23 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $47,099 | $51,195 | 1,664 | 8.3 |
| 24 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $47,242 | $50,798 | 1,636 | 8.2 |
| 25 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $46,683 | $50,742 | 2,189 | 10.9 |
| 26 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $52,704 | $50,677 | 981 | 9.8 |
| 27 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $49,107 | $50,626 | 5,166 | 9.4 |
| 28 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $45,528 | $50,587 | 631 | 6.3 |
| 29 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $56,434 | $49,942 | 8,636 | 8.6 |
| 30 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $51,765 | $49,774 | 2,476 | 9.9 |
| 31 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $43,661 | $49,615 | 1,656 | 11.0 |
| 32 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $43,088 | $48,964 | 850 | 8.5 |
| 33 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $46,417 | $48,860 | 1,223 | 8.2 |
| 34 | Columbus, OH | OH | $44,881 | $48,784 | 1,415 | 7.1 |
| 35 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $43,773 | $48,637 | 674 | 6.7 |
| 36 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $54,532 | $48,258 | 3,266 | 10.9 |
| 37 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $50,477 | $48,073 | 2,179 | 8.7 |
| 38 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $45,186 | $48,070 | 1,603 | 6.4 |
| 39 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $49,453 | $48,013 | 4,517 | 8.2 |
| 40 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $43,141 | $47,934 | 825 | 8.3 |
| 41 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $46,330 | $47,763 | 176 | 7.0 |
| 42 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $42,904 | $47,671 | 1,320 | 8.8 |
| 43 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $41,631 | $47,308 | 906 | 9.1 |
| 44 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $43,536 | $46,813 | 681 | 9.1 |
| 45 | Richmond, VA | VA | $47,212 | $46,745 | 1,654 | 11.0 |
| 46 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $42,910 | $46,641 | 915 | 6.1 |
| 47 | Columbia, SC | SC | $43,226 | $46,480 | 475 | 6.3 |
| 48 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $46,902 | $46,438 | 913 | 6.1 |
| 49 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $48,284 | $45,985 | 496 | 9.9 |
| 50 | Boise City, ID | ID | $41,844 | $45,982 | 572 | 7.6 |
| 51 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $50,097 | $45,961 | 528 | 7.0 |
| 52 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $46,386 | $45,927 | 3,852 | 8.6 |
| 53 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $39,674 | $45,602 | 518 | 6.9 |
| 54 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $45,852 | $45,398 | 1,158 | 7.7 |
| 55 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $43,725 | $45,077 | 1,262 | 6.3 |
| 56 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $40,916 | $44,963 | 101 | 6.7 |
| 57 | Billings, MT | MT | $40,201 | $44,668 | 168 | 6.7 |
| 58 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $39,111 | $44,444 | 495 | 6.6 |
| 59 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $43,101 | $44,434 | 277 | 6.9 |
| 60 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $43,329 | $44,213 | 1,377 | 6.9 |
| 61 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $38,498 | $43,748 | 367 | 9.2 |
| 62 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $38,919 | $43,729 | 443 | 11.1 |
| 63 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $40,861 | $43,469 | 831 | 8.3 |
| 64 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $44,681 | $43,380 | 1,398 | 9.3 |
| 65 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $40,240 | $43,269 | 953 | 9.5 |
| 66 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $40,193 | $43,218 | 1,021 | 10.2 |
| 67 | Jackson, MS | MS | $37,315 | $42,891 | 332 | 6.6 |
| 68 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $47,815 | $42,314 | 1,981 | 9.9 |
| 69 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $40,960 | $42,227 | 2,119 | 8.5 |
| 70 | Rochester, NY | NY | $45,252 | $41,900 | 897 | 9.0 |
| 71 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $42,761 | $41,516 | 1,862 | 7.5 |
| 72 | Wichita, KS | KS | $37,359 | $41,510 | 416 | 8.3 |
| 73 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $42,520 | $41,282 | 2,649 | 8.8 |
| 74 | Charleston, WV | WV | $36,760 | $40,844 | 177 | 7.1 |
| 75 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $45,582 | $40,338 | 3,008 | 7.5 |
| 76 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $40,253 | $39,854 | 842 | 8.4 |
| 77 | El Paso, TX | TX | $37,852 | $39,023 | 697 | 9.3 |
| 78 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $41,974 | $38,865 | 873 | 8.7 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Welders, Cutters & Brazers?
The national median annual wage for welders, cutters & brazers is $47,540, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do welders, cutters & brazers earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for welders, cutters & brazers are Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($57,121), San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($56,174), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($56,071).
How many metro areas have data for welders, cutters & brazers?
We show wage and employment estimates for welders, cutters & brazers across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.