Welder Salary in Abilene, TX: Median $39,458 in 2026
Abilene (TX) · COL index 83 · Unemployment 3.9% · Metro pop 180,000 · Rank #270 of 283 for Welder salary
A Welder in Abilene earns an estimated median of $39,458 per year. That figure starts from the Texas state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($46,180) and scales it by Abilene's composite cost-of-living index of 83 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $32,016; the 90th percentile reaches $65,390. After federal, Texas state (no state income tax), and FICA taxes, a single-filer Welder takes home approximately $33,834/year — about $2,820/month or $1,301 every other week.
Compared to the national Welder median of $47,540, Abilene pays -17.0%. Relative to the Abilene median household income of $48,200, a Weldersalary runs -18.1%. Local unemployment is 3.9%[3], with an estimated 32 annual Welder openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (397,700).
Welder Snapshot — Abilene (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Abilene | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welder median salary | $39,458 | $47,540 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $32,016 | $37,470 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $65,390 | $76,530 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $33,834 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $208,263 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,771/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,625/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $66,464 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 83.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.9% | — | [3] |
How Welder Salaries Work in Abilene
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Texas state-level OEWS median ($46,180) and scaling by Abilene's composite cost-of-living index (83)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and no Texas state income tax — a meaningful wedge worth $1,973–$2,762 per year vs average-tax states[10].
Abilene also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $66,464, which frames what "a good Welder salary" means locally: a $$39,458 wage pays about 59% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Abilene
Estimated annual expense shares on a $33,834 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Abilene's COL index of 83. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Abilene's COL index of 83[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $900/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Abilene
Renting
Buying
At $2,820/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $846/mo. Abilene's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,771/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,625/mo), making rent affordable on a median Welder salary. For homebuyers, the 4.7× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Abilene Stacks Up for Welders
Against 283 major US cities: Abilene ranks #270 for nominal Welder salary, #80 for rent affordability, and #20 for overall purchasing power. Top-30 purchasing power makes Abilene an attractive salary-to-cost market for Welders — nominal wages stretch further than the sticker numbers suggest.
Nearby Cities — Welder Salary Comparison
Abilene's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs TX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene, TX ★ | $39,458 | 83 | $900 | — |
| Houston, TX | $48,015 | 101 | $1,262 | +21.7% |
| Dallas, TX | $49,917 | 105 | $1,275 | +26.5% |
| San Antonio, TX | $43,737 | 92 | $899 | +10.8% |
| Austin, TX | $57,523 | 121 | $1,300 | +45.8% |
| Fort Worth, TX | $47,065 | 99 | $1,354 | +19.3% |
Welder Job Market in Abilene
Abilene has an estimated 32 annual Welderopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 397,700 national Welders[1]. The 3.9% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
About the profession: Welders join metal components using heat and pressure techniques. They work in manufacturing, construction, and repair industries across the country. Typical entry requirement: high school diploma / postsecondary training. Projected growth through 2034: 2%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Abilene
Early-career Welders in Abilene start around $32,016, reach the city median ($39,458) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($65,390) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Abilene
Calculators for Welders in Abilene
Other professions in Abilene
Frequently Asked Questions — Welder in Abilene
How much does a Welder make in Abilene, TX?
The estimated median salary for a Welder in Abilene is $39,458/year, scaled from the national median ($47,540) by Abilene's composite cost-of-living index of 83 (US = 100). After federal, Texas state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $33,834/year or $2,820/month.
Can a Welder afford to live in Abilene?
On $2,820/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $846/month. Abilene's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,771/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,625/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 27.4%, making housing affordable for a Welder at the local median. Home-buyers face 4.7× price-to-income, needing roughly 4.7 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Welder pay in Abilene?
On $39,458 gross, a Welder in Abilene pays approximately $2,606 in federal income tax (6.6% effective), $0 in state income tax (Texas has no state individual income tax), and $3,018 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 14.3%. Some Texas cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Abilene rank for Welder salaries vs other cities?
Abilene ranks #270 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Welder salary, #80 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #20 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Welder in Abilene?
On $33,834 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Abilene looks like: housing $10,800/yr (31.9%); food $3,646/yr; transportation $3,153/yr; healthcare $2,248/yr; utilities $1,548/yr; savings + discretionary $12,439/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Abilene's COL index of 83 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Welder job market like in Abilene?
Abilene's unemployment rate is 3.9% across the metro of 180,000. Estimated annual Welder openings: ~32 (extrapolated from 397,700 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Abilene employers pay above or below the Texas median for Welders?
Not consistently — Abilene's estimated Welder median of $39,458 is 17.0% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Abilene median is derived from the Texas state-level BLS OEWS median ($46,180), scaled by Abilene's composite cost-of-living index of 83. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Weldermedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Texas's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 83index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 97.1(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Texas Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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