Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Welder vs Ironworker
Welders earn a national median of $54,982 versus $70,146 for Ironworkers, a gap of $15,164 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Welders have posted +4% 5-year wage growth versus +4% for Ironworkers.
How These Trades Stack Up
Ironworkers out-earn Welders on national median by $15,164 — $70,146 versus $54,982, or about 28% more. That gap reflects differences in apprenticeship length, certification requirements, industry concentration, and union footprint between the two trades.
Both trades have posted comparable 5-year wage growth — Welders at +4% versus Ironworkers at +4%. That suggests both occupations sit in similar parts of the demand cycle, with neither pulling ahead structurally.
Welders typically complete a 3-year apprenticeship while Ironworkers require 4 years. The longer pathway usually translates into higher journeyman pay and stronger licensure protection, but it also delays full earnings; the shorter pathway delivers faster income at typically lower medians.
Welder
Welding · 3yr apprenticeship
Ironworker
Structural · 4yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | Welder | Ironworker | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | $64,510 | $117,110 | -$52,600 |
| San Francisco, CA | $63,890 | $58,700 | +$5,190 |
| Portland, OR | $60,940 | $93,280 | -$32,340 |
| New York, NY | $60,840 | $92,980 | -$32,140 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $58,930 | $53,290 | +$5,640 |
| Denver, CO | $58,700 | $58,710 | -$10 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $58,200 | $64,480 | -$6,280 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $57,520 | $99,570 | -$42,050 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $57,370 | $95,160 | -$37,790 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $56,110 | $63,630 | -$7,520 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $54,650 | $67,010 | -$12,360 |
| Houston, TX | $53,810 | $50,610 | +$3,200 |
| Charlotte, NC | $53,760 | $55,220 | -$1,460 |
| Miami, FL | $51,390 | $45,610 | +$5,780 |
| Chicago, IL | $50,700 | $93,190 | -$42,490 |
| Nashville, TN | $50,660 | $85,340 | -$34,680 |
| Atlanta, GA | $49,590 | $48,340 | +$1,250 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $49,300 | $62,980 | -$13,680 |
| Dallas, TX | $49,290 | $49,300 | -$10 |
| San Antonio, TX | $48,340 | $48,410 | -$70 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
All wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2024) release at bls.gov/oes. National medians are the BLS-published median wages for the trade's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code; metropolitan medians come from the same OEWS release at the metropolitan statistical area level. Five-year wage growth compares the current OEWS median to the same series five releases prior, expressed as a percent change. The Trade Pay Score weights raw pay (30%), wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade — read the full methodology.
Forward-looking employment projections through 2032 for both trades are published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship pathway detail comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov registry. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Welders or Ironworkers make more money?
Ironworkers earn more on national median — $70,146 versus $54,982, a gap of $15,164 per 2024 BLS OEWS data. The full BLS dataset is published at https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
Which trade has stronger 5-year wage growth?
Ironworkers have posted faster wage growth at +4% versus +4% for Welders. Sustained gaps in growth often compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career.
How long is the apprenticeship for each trade?
Welders typically complete a 3-year registered apprenticeship. Ironworkers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
Welders have 124,810 workers employed nationally; Ironworkers have 5,830. Larger employment bases generally translate into more job openings, easier mobility between employers, and lower volatility — useful when comparing the long-term resilience of two trade pathways.
Where can I find apprenticeships for either trade?
Registered apprenticeship programs for both Welder and Ironworker are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/, which lets you filter by trade, state, and city. Projected employment growth through 2032 for each occupation is published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Welders earn a national median of $54,982 versus $70,146 for Ironworkers, a gap of $15,164 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Welders have posted +4% 5-year wage growth versus +4% for Ironworkers.
The side-by-side above pulls the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data for both Welder and Ironworker. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for Welder versus Ironworker, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual Welder and Ironworker detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.