Average Hourly Wage of Welders, By State

welder

This is the 25th and final installment of Construction Junkie's weekly analysis of the hourly wages of each individual construction profession by state.  The three previous professions we examined were fire and security systems installers, elevator installers, and reinforcing iron and rebar workers, pipelayers.  You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.

Welders are essential on many construction jobs throughout the US, especially in bridge construction and high rise buildings. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers into one category, but their jobs essentially boil down to joining and cutting metal.  Welders also have one of the most dangerous jobs, because they often have to work from significant heights.

Below you'll find a breakout of how each state compensates their welders.  All data below comes from the BLS' most recent reports from May 2016. 

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Welders, by State

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click for larger image

Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of Welders, by State

51. South Dakota  --  $17.33/hour

50. Idaho  --  $17.47/hour

49. Georgia  --  $17.52/hour

48. Florida  --  $17.82/hour

47. Iowa  --  $17.88/hour

46. Arkansas  --  $18.03/hour

45. Vermont  --  $18.06/hour

44. Indiana  --  $18.31/hour

43. Missouri  --  $18.42/hour

42. Michigan  --  $18.46/hour

41. Nebraska  --  $18.56/hour

40. Tennessee  --  $18.64/hour

39. Alabama  --  $18.83/hour

38. Ohio  --  $18.88/hour

37. Kentucky  --  $19.01/hour

36. Illinois  --  $19.13/hour

35. North Carolina  --  $19.31/hour

34. Montana  --  $19.82/hour

33. Wisconsin  --  $20.15/hour

32. South Carolina  --  $20.22/hour

31. Pennsylvania  --  $20.26/hour

30. Kansas  --  $20.30/hour

29. Arizona  --  $20.35/hour

28. Rhode Island  --  $20.39/hour

27. Minnesota  --  $20.61/hour

26. Oregon  --  $20.66/hour

25. Mississippi  --  $20.96/hour

24. West Virginia  --  $21.00/hour

23. California  --  $21.08/hour

22. Oklahoma  --  $21.17/hour

21. Utah  --  $21.52/hour

20. Texas  --  $21.76/hour

19. Virginia  --  $21.85/hour

18. New Hampshire  --  $21.90/hour

17. Colorado  --  $22.04/hour

16. Connecticut--$22.19/hour

15. New York  --  $22.26/hour

14. Maine  --  $22.30/hour

13. Maryland  --  $22.31/hour

12. New Jersey  --  $22.75/hour

11. Louisiana  --  $22.99/hour

10. Washington  --  $23.16/hour

9. Massachusetts  --  $23.18/hour

8. Nevada  --  $23.28/hour

7. Delaware  --  $23.87/hour

6. New Mexico  --  $24.45/hour

5. North Dakota  --  $25.10/hour

4. Wyoming  --  $27.59/hour

3. Hawaii  --  $27.97/hour

2. District of Columbia  --  $28.63/hour

1. Alaska  --  $34.11/hour

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Welders - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state's adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state.  All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017.  The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state. 

click for larger image

click for larger image

Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of Welders- Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

51. Hawaii  --  $9.40/hour

50. California  --  $11.47/hour

49. District of Columbia  --  $13.34/hour

48. Oregon  --  $14.11/hour

47. New York  --  $15.23/hour

46. Rhode Island  --  $15.84/hour

45. Massachusetts  --  $16.11/hour

44. Maryland  --  $16.29/hour

43. South Dakota  --  $17.40/hour

42. Vermont  --  $17.54/hour

41. New Jersey  --  $17.63/hour

40. Florida  --  $18.09/hour

39. Connecticut  --  $18.53/hour

38. Idaho  --  $18.99/hour

37. Georgia  --  $19.17/hour

36. New Hampshire  --  $19.27/hour

35. Iowa  --  $19.33/hour

34. Illinois  --  $19.67/hour

33. Montana  --  $19.68/hour

32. Maine  --  $19.69/hour

31. Pennsylvania  --  $19.94/hour

30. Indiana  --  $19.99/hour

29. Nebraska  --  $20.08/hour

28. Michigan  --  $20.25/hour

27. Missouri  --  $20.28/hour

26. Kentucky  --  $20.28/hour

25. Arkansas  --  $20.30/hour

24. Ohio  --  $20.33/hour

23. North Carolina  --  $20.35/hour

22. South Carolina  --  $20.50/hour

21. Alabama  --  $20.58/hour

20. Tennessee  --  $20.62/hour

19. Minnesota  --  $20.65/hour

18. Wisconsin  --  $20.67/hour

17. Arizona  --  $21.06/hour

16. Washington--$21.31/hour

15. Virginia  --  $21.37/hour

14. Colorado  --  $21.40/hour

13. West Virginia  --  $21.86/hour

12. Nevada  --  $22.02/hour

11. Kansas  --  $22.39/hour

10. Utah  --  $22.53/hour

9. Oklahoma  --  $23.33/hour

8. Delaware  --  $23.34/hour

7. Alaska  --  $23.74/hour

6. Texas  --  $23.81/hour

5. Mississippi  --  $24.00/hour

4. Louisiana  --  $24.23/hour

3. North Dakota  --  $25.38/hour

2. New Mexico  --  $25.89/hour

1. Wyoming  --  $28.56/hour

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