Skilled Wages

Welder salary in Mississippi

Median $24.57 an hour for 6,460 welders, May 2025, with the union scale by county, the job trend since 1999 and the state's own outlook.

$24.57/hrMedian hourly wageMississippi, May data
$51,100/yrMedian annual payfull-time equivalent
$17.69 – $30.9810th to 90th percentilehourly range
6,460Jobs countedemployer survey

Data compiled by Skilled WagesBLS OEWS May 2025; prevailing wage as of 2026-11-13

Welder pay in Mississippi: the full range

Wage percentiles, MississippiMarket wage, 10th-90th pctU.S. reference$10$20$30$40/hrMississippi: 10th $17.69 · 25th $19.71 · median $24.57 · 75th $30.50 · 90th $30.98Mississippi$24.57$17.69$30.98United States: 10th $18.87 · 25th $22.50 · median $25.84 · 75th $30.29 · 90th $37.28United States$25.84
Hourly wage percentiles for welders: Mississippi vs United States, May 2025.

Mississippi ranks 35th of 51 states for median welder pay, and 19th once adjusted for cost of living (the cost-of-living-adjusted median is $28.24). 6,460 welders work in the state. The top 10% earn 1.8× what the bottom 10% earn.

Career stage (approximate)HourlyAnnualWhere it sits in the distribution
Apprentice / entry level$17.69 – $19.71$36,800 – $41,000roughly the 10th to 25th percentile
Journeyman$19.71 – $30.50$41,000 – $63,440the middle half, around the median
Master, foreman or specialist$30.50 – $30.98$63,440 – $64,440the 75th to 90th percentile and above

Where does your pay fall?



Welder pay by metro in Mississippi

Ranked median wages$0$10$20$30$40/hrGulfport: $30.50Gulfport$30.50Jackson: $25.11Jackson$25.11Hattiesburg: $23.80Hattiesburg$23.80Memphis: $23.37Memphis$23.37
Median hourly wage for welders by metro area in Mississippi, May 2025.
Metro10thMedian $/hrCost-of-living adjusted90thJobsvs state
Gulfport$18.73$30.50$33.89$30.502,22024% above
Jackson$17.90$25.11$28.21$33.745302% above
Hattiesburg$18.28$23.80$27.17$42.661603% below
Memphis$18.57$23.37$25.35$31.381,5905% below

Cost-of-living adjusted: median divided by the BEA regional price parity for the metro (2024, US = 100).

Welder wages in Mississippi over time

Mississippi, 1999-2025MississippiUnited StatesSOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages$10$15$20$25$30200020052010201520202025$25.84United States$24.57Mississippi
Median hourly wage for welders, Mississippi vs United States, 1999–2025, nominal dollars.
Table
YearMississippi $/hrIn 2025 $US $/hrJobs
1999$13.48$26.05$12.587,200
2000$12.68$23.71$13.136,810
2001$13.38$24.32$13.706,140
2002$13.84$24.77$14.026,470
2003$14.01$24.51$14.256,510
2004$14.55$24.80$14.726,450
2005$15.09$24.88$14.906,320
2006$14.70$23.48$15.105,710
2007$15.20$23.60$15.51—
2008$16.09$24.06$16.13—
2009$17.47$26.22$16.716,450
2010$18.00$26.58$17.046,170
2011$18.49$26.46$17.275,980
2012$18.56$26.03$17.455,870
2013$18.63$25.75$17.666,740
2014$19.77$26.89$17.996,260
2015$19.95$27.10$18.346,740
2016$20.77$27.86$18.946,280
2017$21.05$27.65$19.356,230
2018$20.70$26.54$19.895,770
2019$19.95$25.12$20.435,940
2020$20.17$25.09$21.255,870
2021$22.32$26.52$22.606,640
2022$23.50$25.85$22.866,000
2023$24.00$25.36$23.535,970
2024$23.80$24.43$24.526,570
2025$24.57$24.57$25.846,460

In today's dollars, the median welder wage in Mississippi changed by -9.3% over the last ten years of data and by -2.2% since 2019.

Are there more welder jobs in Mississippi?

+8.8%Jobs since 20195,940 then, 6,460 in 2025
-4.2%Jobs over 10 years2015 to 2025, employer survey
5.6Jobs per 1,000 in the stateconcentration 2.1× the US share, 8th of 51 states

Since 1999, the number of welders counted in Mississippi has changed by -10.3%, against +1.5% for the country as a whole. Since 2019 the state count changed by +8.8%.

Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers in Mississippi vs United States, 1999 = 100MississippiUnited StatesSOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages708090100110200020052010201520202025102United States90Mississippi
Jobs counted by the BLS employer survey, Mississippi vs United States, indexed to 1999 = 100. Shaded bands mark survey method changes.
Table
YearMississippi jobsMississippi indexUS index
19997,200100100
20006,81095101
20016,1408593
20026,4709088
20036,5109086
20046,4509084
20056,3208887
20065,7107992
20096,4509087
20106,1708677
20115,9808377
20125,8708280
20136,7409486
20146,2608790
20156,7409494
20166,2808793
20176,2308692
20185,7708095
20195,94082100
20205,8708297
20216,6409297
20226,00083100
20235,97083103
20246,57091103
20256,46090102

Job counts are BLS OEWS survey estimates built from three years of samples, so moves of a few percent from one year to the next are within the survey's margin. Self-employed tradespeople are not counted. Areas with fewer than 3,000 jobs or a large sampling error are shown as a single figure rather than a trend.

Outlook for welders in Mississippi

+9.7%Projected growth in Mississippi2024–2034, state agency
770Openings per yeargrowth plus replacements
6,950Jobs in 20247,620 projected for 2034
+2.4%US projected growth2025-35, BLS, for comparison

Mississippi's labor market agency projects the number of welders in the state to change by +9.7% between 2024 and 2034, from 6,950 to 7,620, with about 770 openings a year. Nationally, BLS projects +2.4% over 2025-35. State counts include the self-employed, so the base is larger than the 6,460 counted by the BLS employer survey.

Source: Mississippi labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034 long-term projections (state projections page).

Is construction work growing in Mississippi?

55.6kConstruction jobsMississippi, 2026-09
+3.2%Change over 12 monthsseasonally unadjusted
Construction employment, 1990-202620k30k40k50k60k70k1990199520002005201020152020202556kSep 2026
Construction employment in Mississippi (thousands), construction supersector, BLS CES, not seasonally adjusted. Grey bands are recessions.

Keep comparing

Welder pay in neighbouring states

Other trades in Mississippi

More on Mississippi

Questions this page answers

How much do welders make in Mississippi?

The median welder in Mississippi earned $24.57 an hour ($51,100 a year) in May 2025, 5% below the national median of $25.84. The middle half earn $19.71–$30.50; the top 10% earn more than $30.98.

Where does Mississippi rank for welder pay?

Mississippi ranks 35th of 51 states for welder pay, with a median of $24.57 an hour, and 19th after adjusting for Mississippi's cost of living (BEA price parity 87.0, US = 100).

What is the union welder rate in Mississippi?

Davis-Bacon determinations do not list a welder classification for most Mississippi counties, or the trade is not covered; the BLS wage figures above are the best available measure.

How many welders work in Mississippi?

BLS counted 6,460 welders in Mississippi in May 2025, 5.6 per 1,000 jobs (location quotient 2.08; 1.0 is the national average concentration).

Is welder work growing in Mississippi?

The BLS employer survey count of welders in Mississippi went from 6,740 in 2015 to 6,460 in 2025, -4.2%, and +8.8% since 2019. Mississippi's labor market agency projects +9.7% growth for welders between 2024 and 2034, from 6,950 to 7,620 jobs.

How many welder openings a year are there in Mississippi?

Mississippi projects about 770 openings a year for welders over 2024–2034, counting both new positions and replacements for people who retire or change occupation. Nationally BLS projects about 40,300 a year.

Sources and notes

  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Mississippi and metro areas, SOC 51-4121. Job counts are survey estimates and exclude the self-employed.
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics, state construction employment through 2026-09.
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages.
  • BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (cost-of-living adjustment).
  • SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Not the official determination.
  • BLS Employment Projections, national, 2025-35.
  • State projection: Mississippi labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034, fetched 2026-10-05.