How much do welders make in Minnesota in 2026?

The median welder salary in Minnesota is $60,280 a year, which works out to $28.98 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That number comes from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data published in May 2025, and it represents the midpoint — half of welders in the state earn more, half earn less.

The bottom quarter of the pay range lands at $50,960 a year, or roughly $24.50 an hour. If you're just entering the trade or working a lower-volume shop, expect to start somewhere in that territory. The top quarter earns $65,410 or more — about $31.45 an hour — which tends to reflect welders with several years of experience, specialized certifications, or positions in industries that demand tight tolerances and code work.

That $14,450 spread between the 25th and 75th percentile is meaningful. It tells you the trade rewards skill and specialization in Minnesota, but the ceiling isn't as high as some states with a heavier concentration of aerospace or defense manufacturing. Minnesota's welding work is spread across heavy equipment manufacturers, structural fabrication shops, agricultural equipment production, pipeline construction, and maintenance roles across the Iron Range and in the Twin Cities metro.

Geography within Minnesota matters. The Twin Cities metro — Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding suburbs — concentrates the most fabrication and industrial manufacturing jobs, and competition for experienced welders tends to keep wages closer to or above the median. Outstate markets like Duluth, St. Cloud, Rochester, and the Iron Range also have steady demand, particularly in mining equipment maintenance and infrastructure work, though wages in some of those areas can run slightly lower due to cost-of-living differences. If you're willing to travel or relocate for a specific employer, the range you'll see in job postings reflects that geographic spread.

Overtime is a real factor in what you actually take home. Welders in production or construction settings frequently work 45 to 55 hours a week during peak periods. At the median base rate of $28.98, every hour past 40 pays roughly $43.47. A welder at the median who logs just 10 hours of overtime a week for half the year adds roughly $11,300 in gross pay on top of the base annual figure — enough to push total compensation well past what the BLS annual number shows.

Certifications move the needle. AWS (American Welding Society) certifications like SMAW, GTAW (TIG), and GMAW (MIG) qualifications are table stakes for many shops, but specialty certs — structural D1.1, pipe welding 6G position, or pressure vessel work — open the door to higher-paying roles. Welders certified for stainless, chromoly, or exotic alloy work are a shorter supply in Minnesota and can negotiate from a stronger position than a general production welder.

Industry sector also drives pay differences that the statewide median obscures. Welders working in oil and gas pipeline construction or heavy structural erection often earn at or above the 75th percentile, while entry-level production welding at a mid-size fabrication shop is more likely to sit near the 25th. Maintenance welders at large facilities — paper mills, mining operations, power plants — frequently earn premium rates, especially if they're on a rotating shift or on-call schedule.

Some welders in Minnesota work under collective bargaining agreements. If that applies to your job, your actual wage scale and benefit package are set by the specific agreement in place. Check your local's contract directly for the rates and scale that apply to you — that document is the authoritative source, not a statewide average.

The BLS figures here cover base wages only. They don't include the value of employer-paid health insurance, retirement contributions, tools allowances, per diem on travel jobs, or shift differentials. Depending on the employer, those benefits can add thousands of dollars to total annual compensation beyond what the wage number reflects.