How much do boilermakers make in Georgia in 2026?

The median boilermaker salary in Georgia is $64,200 a year, which works out to about $30.87 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That number sits in the middle of the range — half of boilermakers in the state earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working in a slower market, the 25th percentile is $59,880 annually, or roughly $28.79 an hour. Workers with more experience, specialized skills, or steady industrial work tend to land at the 75th percentile, which is $76,770 a year — about $36.91 an hour.

That spread from bottom quartile to top quartile is roughly $16,890 a year. That's not a small gap. It reflects real differences in years on the tools, the types of facilities a worker gets into, and whether they're picking up overtime on a regular basis.

Boilermakers in Georgia work across a range of industrial settings. The state has a significant presence of pulp and paper mills, chemical plants, electric power generation facilities, and industrial manufacturing operations — all of which rely on pressure vessels, boilers, and related equipment. Workers who get into these heavy industrial accounts tend to see more consistent hours and better annual pay than those doing lighter repair and maintenance work.

Overtime is a real factor for this trade. Boilermakers are frequently called in for scheduled plant outages and turnarounds, which are time-intensive and often involve extended shifts. A worker running 10- or 12-hour days during a two-week turnaround can add several thousand dollars to their annual total. The BLS figures reflect straight-time wages and may not fully capture what higher earners actually take home in years with heavy turnaround schedules.

Geography within Georgia also plays a role. Workers near the Savannah industrial corridor, the Augusta area chemical plants, or the Atlanta metro tend to have more consistent access to large industrial accounts. Rural areas may see more repair-and-maintenance work, which can be steadier but often pays less per hour than major construction or outage work.

Apprenticeship is the standard path into this trade. A boilermaker apprenticeship typically runs four years and combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction covering welding, rigging, blueprint reading, and pressure vessel construction. Completing a formal apprenticeship program puts workers in a stronger position to move up from entry-level pay to the upper tiers of the wage scale.

For workers looking to push past the median, adding welding certifications is one of the most direct routes. Certified welders — particularly those qualified on multiple processes or on high-pressure work — are in consistent demand and are often the first called for premium-rate turnaround projects. Rigging and crane signaling certifications also add value for larger construction jobs.

Some workers may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates.

All figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. BLS data reflects base wages and does not include overtime pay, bonuses, or non-wage benefits.