- Montana ranks 26th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Montana pays more than 2 of its 4 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,530 welders on payrolls in Montana.
- At the state median wage, a welding and fabrication shop needs to bill about $117.53 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Welder pay in Montana, 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 | $21.02 | $43,720 | $18.87 |
| 25th percentile | $22.88 | $47,590 | $22.50 |
| Median | $26.73 | $55,610 | $25.84 |
| 75th percentile | $30.54 | $63,520 | $30.29 |
| 90th percentile | $39.17 | $81,470 | $37.28 |
| Average (mean) | $28.21 | $58,680 | $27.29 |
From the bottom tenth ($21.02) to the top tenth ($39.17), the top of the scale pays about 1.9 times the bottom in Montana, close to the 2 times spread for welders nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $21.02 against $18.87 at the bottom tenth, and $39.17 against $37.28 at the top.
The average, $28.21, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Montana compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $55,610 in Montana against $53,750 nationally, $1,860 more.
In the state ranking, Montana sits 26th, between Delaware ($27.54) and Iowa ($26.49). Arizona has exactly the same median, $26.73, so the two share that place. The range runs from $23.06 in Arkansas to $38.87 in Alaska.
Against its neighboring states, Montana is in the middle: North Dakota and Wyoming pay more, and Idaho and South Dakota pay less.
Every state ranked, with the national pay range: national welder salary by state.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Montana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $26.73 | $55,610 | |
| Idaho | $24.30 | $50,530 | −$2.43 an hour |
| North Dakota | $29.81 | $62,000 | +$3.08 an hour |
| South Dakota | $23.77 | $49,440 | −$2.96 an hour |
| Wyoming | $30.69 | $63,820 | +$3.96 an hour |
How many welders work in Montana
About 1,530 welders work on payrolls in Montana, 0.4% of the 416,210 nationwide, the 45th largest count among the states.
That is 3.0 of every 1,000 jobs in Montana, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a welding and fabrication shop in Montana should charge
Say you run a welding and fabrication shop in Montana and pay the state median of $26.73 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 | $26.73 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $59,852 |
| Break-even rate | ($59,852 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $99.90 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $99.90 ÷ 0.85 | $117.53 |
That is $117.53 per billable hour, 4.4 times the wage, and $1.56 more than the $115.97 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $30.54 in Montana, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $124.22.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.88, the rate only drops to $110.77.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a welder in Montana
- 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.