Compared with the local labor market
Welder pay vs. Minnesota
Across all employers in Minnesota, the median wage for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers — about 9,270 people — is $60,280. Transportation Department pays a median base salary of $69,376 for this role, 15% above that figure — about the 81st percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Transportation Department sits in the local pay range
$45,690
$50,960
$60,280
$65,410
$75,710
Transportation Department median · $69,376
The bar is the range of annual wages for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers across every employer in Minnesota, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Transportation Department’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers — about 416,210 people — is $53,750. Transportation Department’s median base salary is 29% above that national figure, about the 82nd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$39,240
$46,790
$53,750
$63,010
$77,530
Transportation Department median · $69,376
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Minnesota range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Transportation Department is $69,392, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.