Structural Welder Salary: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
At Skilled Trades Headhunters, this is what we do all day: recruit skilled trades professionals.
The median annual wage for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX was $57,940 in May 2025 (BLS). The middle half of workers in this occupation and area earned between $46,470 and $71,460. This is the broader occupation used for Structural Welder, not a separately surveyed rate for that title or credential.
Broader occupation Our title "Structural Welder" is reported by BLS as SOC 51-4121 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers. BLS groups Structural Welder within Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers; it does not publish this niche title or credential level separately.
For Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121), the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX annual median is $4,190 above the national median of $53,750 (7.8%).
Annual wages: Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121)
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121), Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, annual wages: 10% earned less than $38,480, half earned less than the median of $57,940, 90% earned less than $81,940 (BLS, May 2025).
| Measure | Annual wage | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,480 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $46,470 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median (50th) | $57,940 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $71,460 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $81,940 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $59,530 | Arithmetic average of reported wages. |
Hourly wages: Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121)
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121), Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, hourly wages: 10% earned less than $18.50, half earned less than the median of $27.86, 90% earned less than $39.39 (BLS, May 2025).
| Measure | Hourly wage | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.50 per hour | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $22.34 per hour | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median (50th) | $27.86 per hour | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $34.36 per hour | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $39.39 per hour | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $28.62 per hour | Arithmetic average of reported wages. |
National comparison
| Measure | Annual wage | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $39,240 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $46,790 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median (50th) | $53,750 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $63,010 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $77,530 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $56,760 | Arithmetic average of reported wages. |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 51-4121 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.
What BLS wages measure. OEWS estimates describe straight-time gross wages, not just base salary and not total compensation. They include commissions and production bonuses. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. Discuss travel, per diem, tool and truck allowances separately. Percentiles describe the occupation's wage distribution, not seniority, plant size, job complexity or credentials. Licensing, union agreements and prevailing-wage obligations depend on the work and assignment; these figures do not establish a premium for them.
Official BLS wage definitions | Source dates and methodology
BLS definitions, verbatim
wages
Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
hours
Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly wages by 2,080 hours; for occupations where hourly wages are not published, annual wages were taken directly from the reported survey data.
Which related roles have a different BLS occupation?
A supervisory occupation is not an experience percentile for the craft. Compare the actual responsibilities and the published SOC.
Pipefitter Foreman (47-1011)Welding Foreman (51-1011)Pipe Fabrication Shop Foreman (49-1011)Pipefitting General Foreman (47-1011)Pipefitting Superintendent (11-9021)What do these published wages mean for an offer?
Skilled Trades Headhunters reads the May 2025 figures for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) as an offer reference, not a quote for a particular candidate. For Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder), the published median for SOC 51-4121, Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers, is $57,940 per year. The middle half of the Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) wage distribution runs from $46,470 to $71,460, a width of $24,990 per year; that spread shows how much published pay varies within the occupation and area, without assigning experience levels.
Against the United States estimate, the Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) median is $4,190 above the national median of $53,750. For Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121), Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX reports $59,190 per year, $1,250 above Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX; For Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121), College Station-Bryan, TX reports $52,800 per year, $5,140 below Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. The neighbors used for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) are the nearest metro representative points with a released median, using Census geography, not a commuting or cost-of-living adjustment.
The highest published medians among the selected national industry rows for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers, read alongside Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder), are Air Transportation at $137,730 per year (NAICS 481000); Scheduled Air Transportation at $137,730 per year (NAICS 481100); Other Pipeline Transportation at $106,170 per year (NAICS 486900). Those Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) industry comparisons are national cross-sections, not local industry estimates; BLS does not give us a metro-by-industry wage cut here, and overlapping industry groups should not be added together.
The Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) median was $53,810 per year in May 2024, compared with $57,940 in May 2025, a published difference of $4,130. That Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) comparison is between separate BLS releases, not the raise paid to the same workers or a projection of next year's offer. Read the $53,810 and $57,940 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) estimates with both dates visible, because the employers and workers represented by the survey can change.
Before using $57,940 per year from Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) to calibrate an offer, separate overtime, per diem, lodging and mobilization separately; prevailing wage obligations and union scale depend on the assignment and agreement, not a special BLS traveling-worker percentile. The Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) BLS comparison measures straight-time gross wages, including commissions and production bonuses, but excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. A candidate's take-home pay and the employer's total cost for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) can therefore differ from the median without either number being an error.
The mapping for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) is broader: BLS groups Structural Welder within Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers; it does not publish this niche title or credential level separately. When calibrating a Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) opening, the work checks include AWS D1.1 (3G/4G), FCAW/SMAW, shop vs field; ask for evidence of that scope instead of using a percentile as a substitute for qualification. A broader occupation can combine jobs that a Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) buyer would screen separately, which is why the badge and SOC remain beside the figures.
Questions about this occupation and area
What does the middle-half band tell a Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) buyer?
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) has a published middle-half band of $46,470 to $71,460, a width of $24,990 per year, with median $57,940. An offer inside that Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) band is not automatically competitive for every scope; match the required work and the separate pay terms first.
Which areas should I compare before hiring Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder)?
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX and College Station-Bryan, TX are the nearest published metro reference points used for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder). Comparing those Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers tables with the $57,940 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) median does not measure commuting costs or predict what a particular applicant will accept.
Are the industry figures local to Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder)?
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) uses national industry rows for SOC 51-4121, not local sector-specific wages. Air Transportation leads the selected sortable rows at $137,730 per year, but that national industry figure is not a quoted offer for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder).
What changed between the releases for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder)?
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) moved from $53,810 in May 2024 to $57,940 in May 2025. These Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (reference for Structural Welder) published medians do not describe an individual raise or establish a future wage trend.
What changed since May 2024
SOC 51-4121. Published annual median: $53,810 (May 2024) and $57,940 (May 2025). These are two BLS releases, not a projection.