How much do mig welders make in 2026?
MIG welders are counted in the BLS welders, cutters, solderers and brazers series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 51-4121 national median at $53,750 a year ($25.84 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $39,240 and the top 10% at $77,530. Gas metal arc welding sits in the lower and middle part of that band, and the reason is supply rather than difficulty. MIG is the process taught first, learned fastest and used most widely in fabrication, manufacturing, trailer and equipment building and automotive repair, so the labour pool is deep and shop rates reflect it. Within MIG work, pay separates by what the welder can do beyond running a gun: welding aluminium with pulsed and spray transfer, working to a written procedure specification on code-governed fabrication, reading and laying out from drawings, fitting as well as welding, and setting up or tending robotic and hard-automation cells. Those additions matter more than years of arc time. Welders whose earnings sit at the top of this series generally moved into pipe, structural field work, inspection or automation rather than staying in shop production. Employment is projected to grow 2.2% through 2034 with roughly 45,600 openings a year. → Full mig welder career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $53,750 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- MIG Welders earn a national median $53,750/yr ($25.84/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 51-4121); the P10 to P90 range is $39,240 to $77,530.
- MIG welding has no separate BLS series; it sits in SOC 51-4121, and GMAW work generally occupies the lower and middle part of that $39,240 to $77,530 band because the process is the most widely trained in the trade.
- Pay separates on what surrounds the weld: aluminium and pulsed transfer capability, procedure-qualified code work, layout and fitting skill, and robotic cell setup.
- The welders who reach the top of this series usually change context — to pipe, structural field work, inspection or automation — rather than accumulating shop production hours.
US MIG Welder Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do mig welders earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 51-4121; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 51-4121, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a mig welder earn at each career stage?
MIG pay rises with process range, code qualification and the ability to lay out and fit rather than only weld. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 51-4121.
By State
Which states pay mig welders the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Welding geography is industry-shaped: states with shipbuilding, heavy equipment, energy fabrication or automotive manufacturing pay above the modeled figure, while general job-shop markets sit at or below it regardless of local cost of living.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($61,810), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay mig welders the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. For MIG work the metro premium is often smaller than the industry premium: a rural shop building energy or agricultural equipment may pay better than a metropolitan job shop doing light fabrication.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a mig welder’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does mig welder pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. MIG Welders sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify mig welder wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a mig welder actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
MIG Welder Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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