How Much Do Welders Make in New Jersey?
New Jersey welders earned a median of $59,440 a year in May 2025, or $28.58 an hour, compared with $53,750 nationally. The lowest-paid tenth earned $43,290 or less and the top tenth $81,760 or more. The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro paid the most, with a $61,680 median and a top tenth at $95,920.
The typical New Jersey welder earned $59,440 a year in May 2025, or $28.58 an hour. That is the median: half of welders earned more, half earned less. Nationally, the median was $53,750, so New Jersey pays above the country as a whole.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 3,730 welders, cutters, solderers and brazers working in the state. That is a small workforce for a state this size, and it shapes how you should look for work. More on that below.
Starting Pay, Typical Pay and Top Pay
A median tells you the middle. If you are about to train, you care more about where you start and how high you can climb. Here are the BLS pay points for May 2025.
| Pay point | New Jersey yearly | United States yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest 10 percent earned under | $43,290 | $39,240 |
| Lowest 25 percent earned under | $49,870 | $46,790 |
| Median | $59,440 | $53,750 |
| Average (mean) | $62,500 | $56,760 |
| Top 25 percent earned over | $71,060 | $63,010 |
| Top 10 percent earned over | $81,760 | $77,530 |
Your first welding job will likely pay near the bottom two rows. Moving toward $71,060 and above usually takes a few years of steady work plus the certifications that open code and pipe jobs.
New Jersey leads the national figures at every point. The average sits above the median because a smaller group of highly paid welders pulls it up.
Pay Across New Jersey’s Metro Areas
BLS reports welder pay by metro area, and several New Jersey metros cross state lines into New York or Pennsylvania. That matters because a North Jersey welder competes in the New York market, and a South Jersey welder competes in the Philadelphia market.
| Metro area | Median | Hourly median | Lowest 10 percent | Top 10 percent | Welders employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $61,680 | $29.66 | $44,890 | $95,920 | 5,780 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $60,880 | $29.27 | $41,060 | $90,630 | 90 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $58,380 | $28.07 | $44,430 | $79,960 | 4,630 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $54,790 | $26.34 | $43,720 | $74,820 | 860 |
| Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $54,640 | $26.27 | $45,530 | $82,880 | 180 |
| Vineland, NJ | $53,000 | $25.48 | $42,780 | $68,910 | 70 |
North Jersey
The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro has both the highest median and the highest ceiling. Its top tenth earned $95,920 or more, well above the state’s $81,760. It also has the most welders at 5,780 (counted across the whole metro, including New York). If you live in Bergen, Passaic, Essex or Hudson County, this is your job market.
Central Jersey
Trenton-Princeton has a lower median at $54,640 but the highest floor of any metro here: the lowest tenth still earned $45,530. Only 180 welders work in the metro, so you may end up commuting toward New York or Philadelphia work. The Trenton welding schools page and the Somerville welding schools page list programs in this part of the state.
South Jersey and the Shore
The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro employs 4,630 welders at a $58,380 median. Atlantic City-Hammonton pays well at $60,880 but counts only 90 welders, and Vineland, at $53,000, is the lowest-paying metro in the table. If you live near the shore, see the Ocean Acres welding schools page or the Lincroft welding schools page.
Why Welding Jobs Are Harder to Find Here
New Jersey’s location quotient for welders is 0.33. In plain terms, welders make up about a third of the share of jobs in New Jersey that they do across the country. The pay is good, but the openings are fewer.
What that means for you:
- Look across state lines. The two big metros that include New Jersey counties, New York and Philadelphia, hold most of the region’s welding jobs.
- Widen your job titles. Fabricator, pipe welder, structural welder and maintenance welder postings all use the same core skills. See the career pages for pipe welders and structural welders.
- Favor a program with volume. The schools that conferred the most welding awards in 2024–25 are listed further down, and a larger program gives you a bigger classmate network when you job hunt.
The Jobs Welding Leads to Pay Far More
The strongest pay story in New Jersey is not welding itself. It is the trades and roles that welding opens up. These are May 2025 BLS medians for New Jersey.
| Career | New Jersey median | Hourly median | Lowest 10 percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welding engineer | $132,450 | $63.68 | $80,350 |
| Welding sales representative | $131,360 | $63.15 | $73,860 |
| Ironworker | $113,220 | $54.43 | $94,000 |
| Millwright | $107,540 | $51.70 | $61,830 |
| Welding supervisor | $81,110 | $38.99 | $48,560 |
| Welding instructor (CWE) | $72,440 | $34.83 | $49,390 |
| Robotic welding technician | $53,680 | $25.81 | $36,620 |
| Welding inspector | $49,140 | $23.62 | $35,740 |
Ironwork stands out. A New Jersey ironworker’s median of $113,220 is about twice the welder median, and the lowest tenth of ironworkers still earned $94,000 or more. Welding is a core ironworker skill, so a welding certificate is a strong start if you want that path. Millwrights, who install and repair industrial machinery, earned a $107,540 median.
The engineer, sales, supervisor and inspector rows are broad BLS groups that cover many fields beyond welding. Treat them as a sense of where the ladder goes, not a promise.
Two paths pay less than welding itself at the median. Welding inspectors, in the broad BLS inspector group, earned $49,140, and robotic welding technicians earned $53,680. Neither is a bad move, but make it for the work, not for a raise. The instructor path is different: New Jersey welding instructors earned a $72,440 median, and the top tenth earned $101,060 or more, so experienced welders who like teaching have real room to grow.
Where New Jersey Welders Train
Seven New Jersey schools train welders, and the largest programs are private technical schools. Here are the welding awards each conferred in 2024–25.
| School | City | What you earn | Welding awards, 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Technical Institute-South Plainfield | South Plainfield | Certificate, 960 instructional hours | 121 |
| Universal Technical Institute-Bloomfield | Bloomfield | Welding Technology program, 36 weeks | 118 |
| Lincoln Technical Institute-Mahwah | Mahwah | Certificate, 960 instructional hours | 77 |
| Burlington County Institute of Technology | Medford | Welding I and Welding II, 45 sessions each | 23 |
| Hohokus School of Trade and Technical Sciences | Paterson | Diploma | 19 |
| Bergen Community College | Paramus | Certificate of Achievement | 3 |
| Ocean County Vocational-Technical School | Jackson | 900-hour accelerated program | 1 |
Both Lincoln Tech campuses and UTI Bloomfield teach pipe welding, which suits you if you want to aim at the higher end of the pay range. Bergen Community College is the only one with federal tuition data: $4,913 for a full-time year in 2024–25 (in-district). Burlington County Institute of Technology charges $3,575 per course plus a $75 registration fee.
What the Programs Teach
The Lincoln Tech, UTI, Hohokus, Burlington County and Ocean County programs all cover stick (SMAW), MIG (GMAW), TIG (GTAW) and flux-cored (FCAW) welding, and most add cutting and blueprint reading. Hohokus also lists inspection and testing. Program length runs from about six months of day classes at Hohokus to the roughly 42-week Lincoln Tech certificates and the 10-month Ocean County program. Pick the length that fits your savings, since full-time training cuts into the hours you can work.
If you need to keep your job while you train, several of these run evening classes. The companion guide to night welding classes in New Jersey compares their schedules.
Getting From Your First Paycheck to the Top Tier
Pay in welding follows skills you can prove. A few steps move you up the table fastest:
- Test for AWS certifications. Hohokus graduates are eligible for AWS D1.1 structural and plate tests, and Lincoln Tech students can earn AWS SENSE completions by process. Read how welding certification works.
- Add pipe. Pipe is its own qualification, and Lincoln Tech (both campuses) and UTI Bloomfield teach it.
- Pick the right market. The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro has the highest ceiling in the region.
For the full picture, see what a welder does, compare states on the national welder salary table, read the step-by-step guide to becoming a welder in New Jersey, and see every program ranked on the New Jersey welding schools page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Hourly Wage for a Welder in New Jersey?
The median hourly wage was $28.58 in May 2025. In the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro it was $29.66, and in the Vineland metro it was $25.48.
How Many Welders Work in New Jersey?
BLS counted 3,730 welders, cutters, solderers and brazers in New Jersey in May 2025. The state's location quotient for welders is 0.33, so welding is a much smaller share of jobs here than nationally.
Do Ironworkers Make More Than Welders in New Jersey?
Yes. New Jersey ironworkers earned a median of $113,220 in May 2025, and even the lowest-paid tenth earned $94,000 or more.
Where Can You Train to Weld in New Jersey?
Lincoln Technical Institute-South Plainfield conferred 121 welding awards in 2024–25, the most in the state, followed by Universal Technical Institute-Bloomfield with 118 and Lincoln Technical Institute-Mahwah with 77.
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