Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025
Welder Salary in Baltimore, MD
Trades · SOC 51-4121 · COL Index 114.2
Welders in Baltimore, MD earn a median salary of $61,920 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $43,300 to $95,280. The mean is $66,190 across approximately 1,290 workers. Adjusted for Baltimore, MD's cost-of-living index of 114.2, the median equates to $54,221 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.
Welder in Baltimore, MD pays modestly above the national median: $61,920 versus $56,053 nationally, roughly 10% above.
Cost-of-living in Baltimore, MD runs at index 114.2, above the national baseline. The cost-adjusted median works out to about $54,221 in national-baseline dollars. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $50,748, $61,920, $78,600, $95,280. 1,290 Welder workers are documented in Baltimore, MD per the BLS OEWS survey. The percentile spread is the most useful framing — entry-level pay clusters near p25, mid-career near p50, senior-level near p75-p90.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Percentile | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Entry Level) | $43,300 | $37,916 |
| 25th Percentile | $50,748 | $44,438 |
| 50th Percentile (Median) | $61,920 | $54,221 |
| 75th Percentile | $78,600 | $68,827 |
| 90th Percentile (Top Earners) | $95,280 | $83,433 |
What These Numbers Tell You
The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Welders in Baltimore, MD is moderately wide — the 90th-percentile worker earns about 2.2× the 10th-percentile worker. That is typical for a professional role with standard career progression: experience, scope, and employer size all matter, but the spread is not so extreme that the role bifurcates into separate sub-markets.
Baltimore, MD's cost-of-living index of 114.2 sits close to the U.S. average — $61,920 here has roughly the same purchasing power as the same salary in the typical U.S. metro. That makes this market a clean baseline for comparing offers across cities.
Baltimore, MD ranks #11 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Welder pay — in the top quartile nationally (top 16%). Markets in this band tend to be major regional employer hubs even when they are not the absolute highest-cost cities.
How to Use This in Negotiation
The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $78,600 for Welders in Baltimore, MD — when you have meaningful experience, then bring evidence (years on the job, scope of past work, relevant certifications, comparable offers) to justify why you sit at that point in the distribution. Anchoring on the median when you have 5+ years of experience leaves money on the table; anchoring on the 90th percentile ($95,280) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.
For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($50,748–$61,920) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($61,920–$78,600) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($78,600–$95,280).
For specific scripts and a full negotiation framework, see the data-driven salary negotiation guide. To benchmark your current pay, the salary percentile calculator places any number into the BLS distribution for this role and metro.
How This Salary Is Calculated
Wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program — a federal survey of about 1.2 million U.S. establishments, published once per year by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. The Baltimore, MD percentile bands above (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) and the mean are pulled directly from the BLS data file for SOC code 51-4121 in this MSA. The COL-adjusted figure rebases salary to a U.S. national average COL of 100, using a composite index derived from public housing, food, and transportation data. Read the full methodology for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average Welder salary in Baltimore, MD?
Welders in Baltimore, MD earn a median salary of $61,920 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $66,190 across roughly 1,290 workers in this metro.
What is the salary range for Welders in Baltimore, MD?
Pay ranges from $43,300 at the 10th percentile to $95,280 at the 90th percentile — a $51,980 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($50,748 to $78,600) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.
Is $61,920 a good Welder salary in Baltimore, MD?
$61,920 is the BLS median — half of Welders in Baltimore, MD earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($50,748), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($78,600). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $54,221.
How does Welder pay in Baltimore, MD compare to other metros?
Baltimore, MD ranks #11 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Welder median pay. It sits in the top quartile of U.S. metros for this role.
Where does this Welder salary data come from?
Every wage figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — public domain federal data covering 1.2 million U.S. employers. The same data feeds the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage system used for H-1B and federal contracting wage determinations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Baltimore, MD MSA, SOC 51-4121, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."
Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 1,290 Welders tracked in Baltimore, MD.