Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

51-4121 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
354,300 1.0 % $15.06 $31,330 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.53 $11.62 $14.25 $17.62 $22.06
Annual Wage (2) $19,830 $24,170 $29,640 $36,650 $45,890

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Architectural and structural metals mfg. 39,960 $13.97 $29,050 1 111
Ag., construction, and mining machinery mfg. 18,390 $14.33 $29,800 2 101
Commercial machinery repair and maintenance 18,050 $13.61 $28,310 3 121
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 17,510 $18.15 $37,760 4 24
Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing 15,190 $13.40 $27,860 5 126

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Power generation and supply 2,010 $25.09 $52,180 42 1
Natural gas distribution 1,550 $24.83 $51,640 46 2
Other pipeline transportation 50 $23.96 $49,830 133 3
Technical and trade schools 40 $23.41 $48,700 136 4
Motor vehicle manufacturing 7,180 $22.74 $47,300 14 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Louisiana 12,120 $15.58 $32,400 0.656% 329
Mississippi 6,510 $14.59 $30,350 0.600% 310
Arkansas 6,240 $12.95 $26,940 0.558% 353
Wyoming 1,330 $15.13 $31,480 0.552% 250
Oklahoma 7,280 $13.97 $29,060 0.512% 377

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 200 $21.93 $45,620 0.034% 218
Alaska 630 $21.64 $45,010 0.216% 206
Michigan 15,800 $18.65 $38,800 0.364% 324
Hawaii 960 $17.63 $36,670 0.174% 252
Washington 5,790 $17.45 $36,290 0.226% 415

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Houma, LA MSA 1,640 $16.13 $33,550 2.023%
Casper, WY MSA 440 $13.20 $27,450 1.344%
Elkhart-Goshen, IN MSA 1,410 $14.44 $30,040 1.220%
Brazoria, TX PMSA 850 $14.49 $30,140 1.125%
Odessa-Midland, TX MSA 1,130 $13.76 $28,630 1.105%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Anchorage, AK MSA 130 $22.33 $46,440 0.094%
Bremerton, WA PMSA 470 $21.79 $45,330 0.638%
Detroit, MI PMSA 7,380 $21.66 $45,060 0.366%
Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI MSA 320 $21.22 $44,130 0.184%
Oakland, CA PMSA 2,760 $21.14 $43,960 0.271%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

All Production Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004