243A Greens Road, Houston, TX · Private for-profit, under 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 1,170 welding
- Program tuition 2023-24
- $21,500 8 mo
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $40,148 undergraduate certificate
Welding Schools
Welders join metal for construction, pipelines, shipyards, manufacturing and repair shops. Programs teach the main processes (SMAW stick, GMAW MIG, FCAW flux core and GTAW TIG), blueprint reading, cutting and fit-up, and they usually end with bend tests in several positions.
901schools with grads
57,671awards 2023-24
$7,375median program tuition
9 momedian length
$53,750BLS median pay
By state
- Alabama19 schools
- Alaska5 schools
- Arizona15 schools
- Arkansas26 schools
- California69 schools
- Colorado16 schools
- Connecticut3 schools
- Florida50 schools
- Georgia24 schools
- Hawaii2 schools
- Idaho7 schools
- Illinois42 schools
- Indiana3 schools
- Iowa16 schools
- Kansas25 schools
- Kentucky17 schools
- Louisiana12 schools
- Maine5 schools
- Maryland2 schools
- Massachusetts1 school: Technology Learning Center
- Michigan29 schools
- Minnesota20 schools
- Mississippi15 schools
- Missouri16 schools
- Montana11 schools
- Nebraska6 schools
- Nevada4 schools
- New Hampshire3 schools
- New Jersey6 schools
- New Mexico14 schools
- New York11 schools
- North Carolina59 schools
- North Dakota7 schools
- Ohio50 schools
- Oklahoma29 schools
- Oregon15 schools
- Pennsylvania37 schools
- Puerto Rico3 schools
- South Carolina16 schools
- South Dakota3 schools
- Tennessee27 schools
- Texas72 schools
- Utah11 schools
- Virginia19 schools
- Washington22 schools
- West Virginia13 schools
- Wisconsin17 schools
- Wyoming7 schools
Largest welding programs by graduates
3500 Southside Blvd, Jacksonville, FL · Private for-profit, under 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 984 welding
- Program tuition 2023-24
- $21,500 8 mo
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $40,148 undergraduate certificate
50 W. Fall Creek Parkway N. Drive, Indianapolis, IN · Public, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 658 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $5,154
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $45,087 undergraduate certificate
2615 Highway 153, B-3, Piedmont, SC · Private for-profit, under 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 599 welding
- Program tuition 2023-24
- $18,900 7 mo
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $43,267 undergraduate certificate
2545 E. 11th Street, Tulsa, OK · Private for-profit, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 565 welding
- Program tuition 2023-24
- $21,500 8 mo
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $40,148 undergraduate certificate
3801 Campus Drive, Waco, TX · Public, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 563 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $8,544
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $45,978 undergraduate certificate
1845 Loop Dr, Bowling Green, KY · Public, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 505 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $4,872
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $69,657 undergraduate certificate
500 Newtown Pike, Lexington, KY · Public, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 500 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $4,952
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $60,604 undergraduate certificate
3201 W. Pecan, McAllen, TX · Public, 4-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 480 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $4,920
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $39,309 undergraduate certificate
1755 U.S. Hwy 68, Maysville, KY · Public, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 467 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $4,872
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $41,726 undergraduate certificate
1900 College Dr., Rice Lake, WI · Public, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 420 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $5,044
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $50,067 undergraduate certificate
65556 Centerpoint Blvd., Lacombe, LA · Public, 2-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 409 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $4,299
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $34,067 undergraduate certificate
1833 W Southern Ave, Mesa, AZ · Public, 4-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 403 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $2,358
- Median pay 10 yrs, all
- $47,720
3452 Spur 399, McKinney, TX · Public, 4-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 385 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $2,014
- Median pay 10 yrs, all
- $50,928
5000 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands, TX · Public, 4-year
- Grads 2023-24
- 381 welding
- In-state tuition/yr 2025-26
- $3,330
- Median pay 1 yr out
- $37,437 undergraduate certificate
Becoming a welder: licenses and credentials
- There is no general government license to weld. Employers test you to a code such as AWS D1.1 (structural steel) or ASME Section IX (pressure work), and a weld test you pass is tied to that process, position and material. The American Welding Society runs the best-known certification programs.
- Some cities and states license welders on structural or pressure work, so look yours up on CareerOneStop.
- Pipe and structural welding is also taught through union and employer apprenticeships. Find an apprenticeship.
BLS puts the median annual wage for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers nationally at $53,750 (middle 80% from $39,240 to $77,530), May 2025. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Questions, answered from the data
How many welding schools are there?
901 schools reported welding graduates to the Department of Education for 2023-24, 57,671 awards in all (54,002 undergraduate certificates, 3,665 associate degrees, 4 bachelor's degrees).
How long is welding school?
Among the 202 welding programs that reported a length to IPEDS for 2023-24, the median took 9 months to finish. Community college associate degrees usually take two years full time.
How much does welding school cost?
At schools that price by program, the median published tuition and fees for a whole welding program was $7,375 in 2023-24 (215 programs reporting, from $1,013 to $41,200); public two-year colleges teaching it charge a median $4,362 a year in-state (2025-26). Grants and aid lower what most students pay.
How much does a welder make?
The BLS median annual wage for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers was $53,750 in May 2025; the lowest-paid 10% earned under $39,240 and the top 10% over $77,530.
What do welding graduates earn right after school?
Across 294 schools with College Scorecard data, the median of their graduates' median earnings one year after a certificate was $42,812. Scorecard reports this for the broader program family and only for federally aided graduates.
Sources: IPEDS Completions 2023-24 (C2024_A) and Directory (HD2024), NCES; College Scorecard institution data (2025-26 charges, released Nov 2, 2026) and field-of-study data (Oct 15, 2026); FMCSA Training Provider Registry (as of 2026-11-02); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Checked 2026-11-02. How we build this list.