Welding Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Welding maps to BLS occupations averaging about $63,590, with roughly 26,100 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,267; a top linked occupation is Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers.
Key Statistics
Welding: what the data shows
Common questions about welding degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a welding degree?
A Welding program is classified under NCES CIP 48.0508 in the Precision Metal Working field family (48.05).
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to join or cut metal surfaces. Includes instruction in arc welding, resistance welding, brazing and soldering, cutting, high-energy beam welding and cutting, solid state welding, ferrous and non-ferrous materials, oxidation-reduction reactions, welding metallurgy, welding processes and heat treating, structural design, safety, and applicable codes and standards.
IPEDS counted 4 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of welding degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 48.05 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machinist Technology/CNC Machinist (CIP 48.0510)
- Ironworking/Ironworker (CIP 48.0509)
- Machine Shop Technology/Assistant (CIP 48.0503)
- Machine Tool Technology/Machinist (CIP 48.0501)
- Metal Fabricator (CIP 48.0511)
- Sheet Metal Technology/Sheetworking (CIP 48.0506)
- Tool and Die Technology/Technician (CIP 48.0507)
How long does it take to get a welding degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 48.0508 in our file:
- 3,671 Associate (49.3% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 4 Bachelor's (0.1% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 3,671 Master's (49.3% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 96 Doctorate (1.3% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in welding?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Quality Control Analysis, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Operations Monitoring, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a welding degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Welding to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers | 424,040 | $51,000 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a welding degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,267 and median net price is $8,384.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Welding and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,267 Median In-State Public
$16,657 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Welding majors are, on average, $4,267 for in-state public colleges, and $16,657 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Welding programs.
Institutions awarding the most Welding degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulsa Welding School-Houston | TX | 1,170 |
| 2 | Tulsa Welding School-Jacksonville | FL | 984 |
| 3 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 658 |
| 4 | Arclabs | SC | 599 |
| 5 | Tulsa Welding School-Tulsa | OK | 565 |
| 6 | Texas State Technical College | TX | 563 |
| 7 | Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College | KY | 505 |
| 8 | Bluegrass Community and Technical College | KY | 500 |
| 9 | South Texas College | TX | 480 |
| 10 | Maysville Community and Technical College | KY | 467 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
4 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Welding from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Welding.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 2 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 3 | Lone Star College System | TX | 45,188 |
| 4 | Lone Star College System | TX | 45,188 |
| 5 | Brigham Young University-Idaho | ID | 44,397 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Welding programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 3 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 4 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 5 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Welding programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico State University-Grants | NM | $68 |
| 2 | New Mexico State University-Grants | NM | $68 |
| 3 | Fort Peck Community College | MT | $400 |
| 4 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 5 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Welding programs.
Graduation Rates
47.86% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
49.35% Average Graduation Rate
334 Institutions Reporting
33.77% - 62.23% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Welding programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Welding is in ID (4 completions). That state represents about 100.0% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is ID (0.01% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| ID | 4 | 100.0% | 0.01% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 48.05 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machinist Technology/CNC Machinist CIP 48.0510
- Ironworking/Ironworker CIP 48.0509
- Machine Shop Technology/Assistant CIP 48.0503
- Machine Tool Technology/Machinist CIP 48.0501
- Metal Fabricator CIP 48.0511
- Sheet Metal Technology/Sheetworking CIP 48.0506
- Tool and Die Technology/Technician CIP 48.0507
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 48.0508 in the survey year used in our extract (7,442 total across levels below).
- 3,671 Associate (49.3% of IPEDS total)
- 4 Bachelor's (0.1% of IPEDS total)
- 3,671 Master's (49.3% of IPEDS total)
- 96 Doctorate (1.3% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $63,590. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Welding graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers | $63,590 | 424,040 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$63,590 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Welding majors is $63,590.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Welding majors.
Occupations by Share
26,100 2023 Workforce
The number of Welding graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Welding by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Welding in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Welding.
Age distribution for Welding degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
4 Total Degrees Awarded
4 Male (100.00%)
Gender distribution of Welding degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
4 White (100.00%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Welding degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Welding are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Welding.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Welding field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Welding majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Welding majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Welding majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to join or cut metal surfaces. Includes instruction in arc welding, resistance welding, brazing and soldering, cutting, high-energy beam welding and cutting, solid state welding, ferrous and non-ferrous materials, oxidation-reduction reactions, welding metallurgy, welding processes and heat treating, structural design, safety, and applicable codes and standards.
In 2023, 4 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Welding.
CIP Code
48.0508 - Welding
What the data shows
Men earned 11.3% of 57,768 Welding completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $63,590. The largest mapped role by headcount is Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (424,040 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,267 in-state at public colleges and $16,657 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.