Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025
Welder Salary in Rochester, NY
Trades · SOC 51-4121 · COL Index 92.9
Welders in Rochester, NY earn a median salary of $57,130 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $38,800 to $70,520. The mean is $55,910 across approximately 650 workers. Adjusted for Rochester, NY's cost-of-living index of 92.9, the median equates to $61,496 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.
Welder pay in Rochester, NY runs close to the national median: $57,130 locally versus $56,053 nationally. Cities with national-market wages typically have moderate cost-of-living and balanced labor supply-and-demand.
Cost-of-living in Rochester, NY runs below the national baseline (index 92.9). The cost-adjusted purchasing power of $57,130 works out to roughly $61,496 in national-baseline dollars — often higher real income than in high-cost coastal cities at the same gross wage. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $46,132, $57,130, $63,825, $70,520. 650 Welder workers are documented in Rochester, NY 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) | $38,800 | $41,765 |
| 25th Percentile | $46,132 | $49,658 |
| 50th Percentile (Median) | $57,130 | $61,496 |
| 75th Percentile | $63,825 | $68,703 |
| 90th Percentile (Top Earners) | $70,520 | $75,910 |
What These Numbers Tell You
The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Welders in Rochester, NY is moderately wide — the 90th-percentile worker earns about 1.8× 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.
Rochester, NY's cost-of-living index of 92.9 runs below the U.S. average, so a $57,130 salary here has the equivalent purchasing power of about $61,496 in an average-cost metro. Lower nominal pay in markets like this often translates to comparable or better real income than higher headline numbers in coastal hubs.
Rochester, NY ranks #31 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Welder pay — in the upper half (44th percentile of metros) but not the top tier.
How to Use This in Negotiation
The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $63,825 for Welders in Rochester, NY — 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 ($70,520) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.
For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($46,132–$57,130) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($57,130–$63,825) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($63,825–$70,520).
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 Rochester, NY 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 Rochester, NY?
Welders in Rochester, NY earn a median salary of $57,130 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $55,910 across roughly 650 workers in this metro.
What is the salary range for Welders in Rochester, NY?
Pay ranges from $38,800 at the 10th percentile to $70,520 at the 90th percentile — a $31,720 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($46,132 to $63,825) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.
Is $57,130 a good Welder salary in Rochester, NY?
$57,130 is the BLS median — half of Welders in Rochester, NY earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($46,132), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($63,825). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $61,496.
How does Welder pay in Rochester, NY compare to other metros?
Rochester, NY ranks #31 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Welder median pay. It sits in the upper half but not the top tier.
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, Rochester, NY MSA, SOC 51-4121, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."
Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 650 Welders tracked in Rochester, NY.