- Kentucky ranks 33rd of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Kentucky pays more than 5 of its 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 6,630 welders on payrolls in Kentucky.
- At the state median wage, a welding and fabrication shop needs to bill about $114.04 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Welder pay in Kentucky, bottom to top
BLS counts welders, cutters, solderers and brazers as one group. It covers people who join or cut metal with welding, cutting, soldering and brazing equipment, by hand or on machines, in shops, plants and on job sites.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.89 | $39,300 | $18.87 |
| 25th percentile | $22.30 | $46,380 | $22.50 |
| Median | $24.74 | $51,470 | $25.84 |
| 75th percentile | $28.80 | $59,900 | $30.29 |
| 90th percentile | $33.18 | $69,010 | $37.28 |
| Average (mean) | $25.82 | $53,710 | $27.29 |
Pay is bunched up in Kentucky. The top tenth earn $33.18 an hour or more, about 1.8 times the $18.89 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($18.89 against $18.87) but the ceiling is lower ($33.18 against $37.28), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $25.82, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Kentucky compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $51,470 in Kentucky against $53,750 nationally, $2,280 less.
In the state ranking, Kentucky sits 33rd, between Missouri ($24.98) and Illinois ($24.67). The range runs from $23.06 in Arkansas to $38.87 in Alaska.
Against its neighboring states, Kentucky is in the middle: Missouri and Virginia pay more, and Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia pay less.
Every state ranked, with the national pay range: national welder salary by state.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Kentucky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $24.74 | $51,470 | |
| Illinois | $24.67 | $51,320 | −$0.07 an hour |
| Indiana | $23.91 | $49,730 | −$0.83 an hour |
| Missouri | $24.98 | $51,950 | +$0.24 an hour |
| Ohio | $24.20 | $50,340 | −$0.54 an hour |
| Tennessee | $23.10 | $48,040 | −$1.64 an hour |
| Virginia | $28.45 | $59,180 | +$3.71 an hour |
| West Virginia | $23.46 | $48,810 | −$1.28 an hour |
How many welders work in Kentucky
About 6,630 welders work on payrolls in Kentucky, 1.6% of the 416,210 nationwide, the 24th largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 3.3 of every 1,000 jobs in Kentucky, 1.2 times the national share.
What a welding and fabrication shop in Kentucky should charge
Say you run a welding and fabrication shop in Kentucky and pay the state median of $24.74 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $24.74 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $55,396 |
| Break-even rate | ($55,396 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $96.93 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $96.93 ÷ 0.85 | $114.04 |
That is $114.04 per billable hour, 4.6 times the wage, and $1.93 less than the $115.97 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $28.80 in Kentucky, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $121.17.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.30, the rate only drops to $109.75.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a welder in Kentucky
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how welding and fabrication shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 51-4121, welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: welder salary by state.