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Welders, Cutters & Solderers salary in Durham, NC

Median pay for welders, cutters & solderers in Durham, NC: $49,520/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $38,430 – $65,400 · about 320 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($48,615) by +$905 (+2%).

What it's really worth in Durham

With Durham's cost of living at 97 (US=100), that $49,520 has the buying power of about $50,870 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $76,040 · median home $414,340 · median rent $1,703/mo.

Full Durham cost of living & taxes →

How Durham ranks for this job

On raw pay, Durham, NC is 71st of the 186 metros we hold welders, cutters & solderers wages for. Once Durham's cost of living is applied, it ranks 103rd.

The headline number flatters Durham. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, welders, cutters & solderers here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Durham

A median home in Durham, NC costs $414,340 — about 8.4× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,703/mo works out at 41% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

Where welders, cutters & solderers earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Durham.

MetroMedian payvs DurhamRent vs Durham
Honolulu, HI $76,540 +55% 1.7×
Baton Rouge, LA $70,010 +41% 0.8×
Bremerton, WA $66,310 +34% 1.2×
Virginia Beach, VA $63,630 +28% 1.1×

Same job elsewhere in NC

MetroMedian payvs DurhamRent vs Durham
Raleigh, NC $49,370 +0%
Charlotte, NC $49,210 −1%
Greensboro, NC $48,520 −2% 0.8×
Wilmington, NC $48,100 −3%

Staying in NC keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Durham

Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 186 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.