Welder Salary in Denver, CO: Median $57,523 in 2026
Denver (CO) · COL index 121 · Unemployment 3.3% · Metro pop 2,930,000 · Rank #45 of 283 for Welder salary
A Welder in Denver earns an estimated median of $57,523 per year. That figure starts from the Colorado state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($48,422) and scales it by Denver's composite cost-of-living index of 121 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $44,513; the 90th percentile reaches $90,914. After federal, Colorado state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Welder takes home approximately $46,478/year — about $3,873/month or $1,788 every other week.
Compared to the national Welder median of $47,540, Denver pays +21.0%. Relative to the Denver median household income of $85,200, a Weldersalary runs -32.5%. Local unemployment is 3.3%[3], with an estimated 678 annual Welder openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (397,700).
Welder Snapshot — Denver (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 | Denver | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welder median salary | $57,523 | $47,540 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $44,513 | $37,470 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $90,914 | $76,530 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $46,478 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $573,363 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,858/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,700/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $102,339 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 121.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.3% | — | [3] |
How Welder Salaries Work in Denver
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Colorado state-level OEWS median ($48,422) and scaling by Denver's composite cost-of-living index (121)[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 Colorado state income tax at a 3.3% effective rate ($1,871/yr on the $57,523 median)[10].
Denver 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 $102,339, which frames what "a good Welder salary" means locally: a $$57,523 wage pays about 56% 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.
Welder Salary & Cost-of-Living Context — Denver
Buy vs rent in Denver
Monthly PITI on the $573,363 median home in Denver is ~$3,773/mo — vs a $1,858/mo median rent. Rent burden on median household income is 21.8%, which falls within the recommended 30% guideline for housing costs.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Denver
Estimated annual expense shares on a $46,478 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Denver's COL index of 121. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Denver's COL index of 121[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,395/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Denver
Renting
Buying
At $3,873/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,162/mo. Denver's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,858/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,700/mo), making rent affordable on a median Welder salary. For homebuyers, the 9.8× price-to-income ratio is stretched — expect DTI friction on FHA / conventional underwriting without a co-borrower.
How Denver Stacks Up for Welders
Against 283 major US cities: Denver ranks #45 for nominal Welder salary, #97 for rent affordability, and #240 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Denver's nominal wage premium. Welders here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Welder Salary Comparison
Denver'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 CO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver, CO ★ | $57,523 | 121 | $1,395 | — |
| Colorado Springs, CO | $48,966 | 103 | $995 | -14.9% |
| Fort Collins, CO | $52,769 | 111 | $1,500 | -8.3% |
| Boulder, CO | $62,753 | 132 | $2,100 | +9.1% |
| Aurora, CO | $50,868 | 107 | $1,650 | -11.6% |
| Thornton, CO | $51,343 | 108 | $1,700 | -10.7% |
Welder Job Market in Denver
Denver has an estimated 678 annual Welderopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 397,700 national Welders[1]. The 3.3% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
Top employers in Denver
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 Denver
Early-career Welders in Denver start around $44,513, reach the city median ($57,523) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($90,914) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Denver
Calculators for Welders in Denver
Other professions in Denver
Frequently Asked Questions — Welder in Denver
How much does a Welder make in Denver, CO?
The estimated median salary for a Welder in Denver is $57,523/year, scaled from the national median ($47,540) by Denver's composite cost-of-living index of 121 (US = 100). After federal, Colorado state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $46,478/year or $3,873/month.
Can a Welder afford to live in Denver?
On $3,873/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,162/month. Denver's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,858/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,700/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 29.1%, making housing affordable for a Welder at the local median. Home-buyers face 9.8× price-to-income, needing roughly 9.8 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Welder pay in Denver?
On $57,523 gross, a Welder in Denver pays approximately $4,774 in federal income tax (8.3% effective), $1,871 in Colorado state income tax (3.3% effective), and $4,400 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 19.2%. Some Colorado cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Denver rank for Welder salaries vs other cities?
Denver ranks #45 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Welder salary, #97 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #240 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 Denver?
On $46,478 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Denver looks like: housing $16,740/yr (36.0%); food $6,280/yr; transportation $5,038/yr; healthcare $3,458/yr; utilities $2,568/yr; savings + discretionary $12,394/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Denver's COL index of 121 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Welder job market like in Denver?
Denver's unemployment rate is 3.3% across the metro of 2,930,000. Estimated annual Welder openings: ~678 (extrapolated from 397,700 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Denver employers pay above or below the Colorado median for Welders?
Yes — Denver's estimated Welder median of $57,523 is 21.0% above the national median. Higher nominal pay in this city partially offsets the higher cost of living; the real picture depends on housing costs and state taxes.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Denver median is derived from the Colorado state-level BLS OEWS median ($48,422), scaled by Denver's composite cost-of-living index of 121. 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 Colorado'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 121index 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 = 101.9(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 2026-06-04.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- Colorado Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
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