Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

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)
361,970 0.9 % $14.82 $30,820 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.41 $11.41 $14.02 $17.34 $21.79
Annual Wage (2) $19,570 $23,720 $29,160 $36,070 $45,310

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. 41,280 $13.76 $28,630 1 117
Ag., construction, and mining machinery mfg. 18,890 $14.13 $29,380 2 105
Commercial machinery repair and maintenance 17,580 $13.56 $28,210 3 123
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 16,730 $17.83 $37,080 4 23
Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing 16,640 $13.29 $27,640 5 131

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Power generation and supply 2,220 $25.36 $52,740 37 1
Natural gas distribution 1,550 $25.06 $52,130 52 2
Other pipeline transportation 40 $24.50 $50,960 149 3
Motor vehicle manufacturing 7,280 $22.55 $46,900 14 4
Nonscheduled air transportation 30 $22.27 $46,310 151 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 11,600 $15.17 $31,560 0.632% 310
Mississippi 6,470 $14.33 $29,800 0.595% 284
Arkansas 6,440 $12.70 $26,410 0.575% 337
Oklahoma 7,680 $13.90 $28,910 0.539% 345
North Dakota 1,640 $14.12 $29,370 0.524% 250

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 $21.78 $45,310 0.034% 204
Alaska 560 $21.73 $45,200 0.195% 182
Michigan 15,960 $17.90 $37,230 0.366% 313
Delaware 670 $17.67 $36,760 0.167% 224
Hawaii 840 $17.47 $36,350 0.153% 248

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 1,310 $15.36 $31,960 1.624%
Elkhart-Goshen, IN MSA 1,510 $14.99 $31,170 1.315%
Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, MS MSA 1,820 $16.82 $34,980 1.236%
Brazoria, TX PMSA 800 $14.68 $30,530 1.056%
Casper, WY MSA 320 $13.75 $28,600 0.991%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Anchorage, AK MSA 110 $22.55 $46,910 0.080%
Bloomington-Normal, IL MSA (6) $21.92 $45,580 (6)
Bremerton, WA PMSA 490 $21.64 $45,010 0.663%
Ann Arbor, MI PMSA 490 $21.24 $44,170 0.174%
Detroit, MI PMSA 7,390 $20.62 $42,880 0.367%

About 2002 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) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for 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.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003