Where Can You Train to Be a Pipe Welder?
- Lee College (Baytown, TX) offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding, at $2,520 a year.
- Aims Community College (Greeley, CO) offers an associate degree and 5 certificates in welding, at $2,258 a year.
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (Elizabethtown, KY) offers an associate degree, a diploma and 17 certificates in welding, at $4,728 a year.
- Tuition and fees run from $1,142 to $21,225 a year across the schools on this page (2024–25).
- Texas has the most schools on this list (35), then North Carolina (23).
Lee College Leads the Pipe Welding Schools Rankings
The first 50 of 383 schools. Tuition is the 2024–25 full-time rate shown on each school's profile; welding awards are credentials conferred in welding in 2024–25; graduation rate is college-wide. Source: NCES College Navigator. Blank cells mean no federal figure for that school.
How We Ranked Pipe Welding Schools
Every school that teaches pipe welding with a verified, current welding program page gets a percentile score against the others on this page: program size (35%, welding awards conferred), cost (25%, lowest resident tuition and fees for 2024–25), completion (25%, college-wide graduation rate) and credential ladder (15%, both certificates and associate degrees awarded). Federal data can't measure instructors or shop equipment, so tour the welding lab before you enroll. A school is listed when its own program page names pipe welding in its courses or processes.
Best Pipe Welding Schools by Goal: Top Ranked, Lowest Tuition, Most Welding Awards, Highest Completion and Certificate to Degree
The Top 25 Pipe Welding Schools, School by School
1Lee College, Baytown, Texas
Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,520 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 182 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
2Aims Community College, Greeley, Colorado
Offers an associate degree and 5 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,258 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 292 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Cutting
3Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 17 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,728 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 380 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting
4Gateway Community and Technical College, Florence, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 16 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,728 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 324 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting
5Owensboro Community and Technical College, Owensboro, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 18 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,728 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 301 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Fabrication · Robotic
6Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 6 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,660 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 105 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication · Inspection
7Merced College, Merced, California
Offers an associate degree and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,200 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 175 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
8Texarkana College, Texarkana, Texas
Offers an associate degree, 2 certificates and one other award in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,476 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 103 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
9Cerritos College, Norwalk, California
Offers an associate degree and 8 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,364 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 278 conferred 2024–25
Teaches TIG · Pipe · Fabrication
10Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, Kansas
Offers an associate degree and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $3,540 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 92 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
11American River College, Sacramento, California
Offers an associate degree and 7 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,288 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 116 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Cutting
12San Jacinto Community College, Pasadena, Texas
Offers an associate degree, 4 certificates and one other award in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,490 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 534 conferred 2024–25
Teaches TIG · Pipe · Fabrication
13Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,254 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 192 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
14Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Salisbury, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, 2 diplomas and 9 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,064 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 136 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
15Southeast Community College Area, Lincoln, Nebraska
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and a certificate in welding
- Tuition / year
- $3,690 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 223 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
16Tulsa Welding School-Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Offers an associate degree and a diploma in welding
- Welding awards offered
- 2 certificates and degrees
- Welding awards
- 591 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Inspection
17William Rainey Harper College, Palatine, Illinois
Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $3,894 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 110 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
18Central Carolina Community College, Sanford, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,711 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 93 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
19Lewis and Clark Community College, Godfrey, Illinois
Offers an associate degree and 10 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,340 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 153 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · TIG · Pipe · Fabrication · Inspection
20Northland Pioneer College, Holbrook, Arizona
Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,232 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 243 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
21Panola College, Carthage, Texas
Offers an associate degree, 2 certificates and 3 other awards in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,352 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 128 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Pipe
22Pitt Community College, Winterville, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 7 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,580 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 136 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Cutting
23Tri-County Technical College, Pendleton, South Carolina
Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,448 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 180 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Cutting
24College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California
Offers an associate degree and 7 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,166 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 46 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
25Dallas College, Mesquite, Texas
Offers an associate degree and 5 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,730 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 185 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Fabrication
Tuition and welding awards: NCES College Navigator, 2024–25. Programs, processes and schedules: each school's own welding page, reviewed September 2026.
Best Pipe Welding Schools by State
| State | Schools on this list | Highest ranked in the state |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 35 | Lee College (#1) |
| North Carolina | 23 | Blue Ridge Community College (#6) |
| Illinois | 22 | William Rainey Harper College (#17) |
| Tennessee | 22 | Lincoln College of Technology-Nashville (#125) |
| California | 21 | Merced College (#7) |
| Florida | 21 | Tulsa Welding School-Jacksonville (#83) |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | Pennsylvania College of Technology (#116) |
| Arkansas | 13 | Black River Technical College (#57) |
| Georgia | 13 | Central Georgia Technical College (#27) |
| Alabama | 12 | Bevill State Community College (#56) |
| South Carolina | 12 | Tri-County Technical College (#23) |
| Virginia | 11 | Advanced Technology Institute (#68) |
| Arizona | 10 | Northland Pioneer College (#20) |
| Mississippi | 10 | East Mississippi Community College (#33) |
| Ohio | 10 | Ohio Technical College (#80) |
| Colorado | 9 | Aims Community College (#2) |
| Kentucky | 9 | Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (#3) |
| New Mexico | 9 | Central New Mexico Community College (#36) |
| Oregon | 9 | Portland Community College (#140) |
| Louisiana | 8 | Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College (#48) |
| Kansas | 6 | Hutchinson Community College (#10) |
| Missouri | 6 | East Central College (#86) |
| Wyoming | 6 | Eastern Wyoming College (#69) |
| Montana | 5 | Great Falls College Montana State University (#78) |
| Nebraska | 5 | Southeast Community College Area (#15) |
| New York | 5 | Modern Welding School (#223) |
| Oklahoma | 5 | Tulsa Welding School-Tulsa (#16) |
| Washington | 5 | Bellingham Technical College (#49) |
| West Virginia | 5 | New River Community and Technical College (#275) |
| Wisconsin | 5 | Gateway Technical College (#91) |
| Iowa | 4 | Indian Hills Community College (#154) |
| Maine | 4 | Eastern Maine Community College (#195) |
| Michigan | 4 | Grand Rapids Community College (#188) |
| Idaho | 3 | College of Eastern Idaho (#242) |
| Indiana | 3 | Ivy Tech Community College (#121) |
| New Jersey | 3 | Lincoln Technical Institute-South Plainfield (#165) |
| North Dakota | 3 | North Dakota State College of Science (#148) |
| Alaska | 2 | Alaska Vocational Technical Center (#329) |
| Maryland | 2 | Lincoln College of Technology-Columbia (#181) |
| Minnesota | 2 | Minnesota West Community and Technical College (#302) |
| New Hampshire | 2 | Manchester Community College (#221) |
| Connecticut | 1 | Lincoln Technical Institute-East Windsor (#164) |
| Nevada | 1 | College of Southern Nevada (#132) |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | Mech-Tech College (#104) |
| South Dakota | 1 | Lake Area Technical College (#87) |
| Utah | 1 | Mountainland Technical College (#245) |
How to Choose Among Pipe Welding Schools
Make Sure Pipe Is in the Core Courses
Some programs teach pipe in a single elective; others build a whole semester around it. Look for named pipe courses in stick and TIG, not just a mention.
Ask Which Positions You'll Test in
Pipe welders are tested on joints welded in fixed positions, with the hardest done at an angle. Ask whether the program prepares you for the position and code your target employers use.
Plan on TIG and Stick
Pipe work usually starts with a TIG or stick root pass, so a program strong in both processes prepares you best.
See Where Graduates Work
Pipeline, refinery and power-plant contractors hire pipe welders. Ask the program which employers recruit from its shop.
Best Pipe Welding Schools: FAQ
What Is the Best Pipe Welding School?
Lee College in Baytown, TX ranks first on the method on this page, followed by Aims Community College and Elizabethtown Community and Technical College. The best fit depends on the campus you can reach and the credential you want.
How Much Do Pipe Welding Schools Cost?
Full-time tuition and fees for 2024–25 at the 287 schools on this page with federal figures run from $1,142 to $21,225 a year, before books, tools and protective gear. Each figure is the school's lowest resident rate.
How Many Pipe Welding Schools Are There?
383 schools on this page meet the rule for this list, each checked against the school's own program page. Texas has the most (35), followed by North Carolina (23).
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Sources
Reviewed November 3, 2026.
- NCES College Navigator: tuition and fees, welding awards and graduation rates, 2024–25
- Each school's official welding program page, linked from its profile