Welder Salary in Franklin, TN: Median $53,244 in 2026
Franklin (TN) · COL index 112 · Unemployment 2.8% · Metro pop 85,000 · Rank #75 of 283 for Welder salary
A Welder in Franklin earns an estimated median of $53,244 per year. That figure starts from the Tennessee state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($43,781) and scales it by Franklin's composite cost-of-living index of 112 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $45,569; the 90th percentile reaches $93,072. After federal, Tennessee state (no state income tax), and FICA taxes, a single-filer Welder takes home approximately $44,910/year — about $3,743/month or $1,727 every other week.
Compared to the national Welder median of $47,540, Franklin pays +12.0%. Relative to the Franklin median household income of $115,200, a Weldersalary runs -53.8%. Local unemployment is 2.8%[3], with an estimated 15 annual Welder openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (397,700).
Welder Snapshot — Franklin (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 | Franklin | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welder median salary | $53,244 | $47,540 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $45,569 | $37,470 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $93,072 | $76,530 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $44,910 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $625,000 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $2,000/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,850/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $115,200 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 112.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 2.8% | — | [3] |
How Welder Salaries Work in Franklin
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Tennessee state-level OEWS median ($43,781) and scaling by Franklin's composite cost-of-living index (112)[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 Tennessee state income tax — a meaningful wedge worth $2,662–$3,727 per year vs average-tax states[10].
Franklin 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 $115,200, which frames what "a good Welder salary" means locally: a $$53,244 wage pays about 46% 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 — Franklin
Estimated annual expense shares on a $44,910 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Franklin's COL index of 112. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Franklin's COL index of 112[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $2,000/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Franklin
Renting
Buying
At $3,743/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,123/mo. Franklin's typical 1–2BR rent runs $2,000/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,850/mo), making rent severely cost-burdened on a median Welder salary. For homebuyers, the 11.7× price-to-income ratio is stretched — expect DTI friction on FHA / conventional underwriting without a co-borrower.
How Franklin Stacks Up for Welders
Against 283 major US cities: Franklin ranks #75 for nominal Welder salary, #277 for rent affordability, and #215 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Franklin'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
Franklin'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 TN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin, TN ★ | $53,244 | 112 | $2,000 | — |
| Nashville, TN | $53,245 | 112 | $1,556 | +0.0% |
| Memphis, TN | $39,934 | 84 | $908 | -25.0% |
| Knoxville, TN | $44,212 | 93 | $1,100 | -17.0% |
| Chattanooga, TN | $43,737 | 92 | $1,100 | -17.9% |
| Clarksville, TN | $42,311 | 89 | $1,000 | -20.5% |
Welder Job Market in Franklin
Franklin has an estimated 15 annual Welderopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 397,700 national Welders[1]. The 2.8% 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 Franklin
Early-career Welders in Franklin start around $45,569, reach the city median ($53,244) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($93,072) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Franklin
Calculators for Welders in Franklin
Other professions in Franklin
Frequently Asked Questions — Welder in Franklin
How much does a Welder make in Franklin, TN?
The estimated median salary for a Welder in Franklin is $53,244/year, scaled from the national median ($47,540) by Franklin's composite cost-of-living index of 112 (US = 100). After federal, Tennessee state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $44,910/year or $3,743/month.
Can a Welder afford to live in Franklin?
On $3,743/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,123/month. Franklin's Zillow ZORI median rent is $2,000/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,850/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 45.1%, making housing severely cost-burdened for a Welder at the local median. Home-buyers face 11.7× price-to-income, needing roughly 11.7 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Welder pay in Franklin?
On $53,244 gross, a Welder in Franklin pays approximately $4,261 in federal income tax (8.0% effective), $0 in state income tax (Tennessee has no state individual income tax), and $4,073 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 15.7%. Some Tennessee cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Franklin rank for Welder salaries vs other cities?
Franklin ranks #75 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Welder salary, #277 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #215 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 Franklin?
On $44,910 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Franklin looks like: housing $24,000/yr (53.4%); food $5,777/yr; transportation $4,707/yr; healthcare $3,257/yr; utilities $2,380/yr; savings + discretionary $4,789/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Franklin's COL index of 112 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Welder job market like in Franklin?
Franklin's unemployment rate is 2.8% across the metro of 85,000. Estimated annual Welder openings: ~15 (extrapolated from 397,700 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Franklin employers pay above or below the Tennessee median for Welders?
Yes — Franklin's estimated Welder median of $53,244 is 12.0% 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 Franklin median is derived from the Tennessee state-level BLS OEWS median ($43,781), scaled by Franklin's composite cost-of-living index of 112. 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 Tennessee'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 112index 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 = 92.1(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.
- Tennessee 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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