How much do welding inspectors make in 2026?
Welding inspectors are counted in the BLS inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers series: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 51-9061 national median as $48,570 a year ($23.35 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $35,510 and the top 10% at $77,860. That series is dominated by production and quality inspection roles requiring no formal credential, so it understates certified welding inspection: a CWI holder from the American Welding Society is a credentialed inspector responsible for accepting or rejecting code welds, and their pay generally sits in the upper part of the band, with the $61,440 P75 a fairer marker than the median. The credential requires documented welding-related experience plus examinations in code application, practical inspection and fundamentals, and it is the standard requirement on structural steel, pressure and pipeline projects. Field and travelling inspection pays above shop quality work. Employment across the series is projected to hold flat through 2034 with roughly 69,900 openings a year. → Full welding inspector career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $48,570 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Welding Inspectors earn a national median $48,570/yr ($23.35/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 51-9061); the P10 to P90 range is $35,510 to $77,860.
- BLS pools welding inspection into a broad inspectors series dominated by production roles, so the $48,570 median understates CWI-level work — the $61,440 P75 is the fairer reference.
- The CWI credential requires documented welding experience plus code, practical and fundamentals examinations, and it is a standard contract requirement on code projects.
- Field and travelling inspection pays above shop quality control, and third-party inspection agencies pay for mobility and multiple code endorsements.
US Welding Inspector Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do welding inspectors 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 51-9061; 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 51-9061, 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 welding inspector earn at each career stage?
Welding inspection pay follows certification level, code endorsements and whether the work is field-based. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 51-9061, a broad inspection series.
By State
Which states pay welding inspectors the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median for the inspectors series scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Inspection demand follows the industries that require it: refining, pipeline, power generation, shipbuilding and structural steel markets carry the code work. Some states and cities also require special inspection on structural steel in buildings, which creates local demand for certified inspectors independent of industry mix.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($55,860), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay welding inspectors the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median for the inspectors series scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a welding inspector’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 welding inspector pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Welding Inspectors 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 welding inspector wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a welding inspector 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
Welding Inspector Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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