Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers Salary in Grand Rapids, MI
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area earn a median $48,920 a year — 9% less than the national median. After 2026 taxes, that is $39,659 take-home, or $3,305 a month.
Take-home pay calculator
Pre-filled with the median welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers salary in Grand Rapids, MI. Enter your own offer to see your paycheck.
- Federal income tax$3,690
- Social Security (6.2%)$3,033
- Medicare (1.45%)$709
- Michigan income tax$1,828
- Take-home pay$39,659
Marginal rate: 12% federal + 4.25% state
Living in Grand Rapids? City residents also pay Grand Rapids’s city income tax — about $734 a year on this salary — which lowers take-home pay to $38,925 ($3,244 a month). Choose “Grand Rapids” under City income tax in the calculator. Suburban residents usually don’t pay it.
Got an offer somewhere else? Compare it with this one after taxes and rent →
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers pay by experience in Grand Rapids, MI
| Percentile | Salary | Hourly | Take-home / yr | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile (entry level) | $39,540 | $19.01 | $32,521 | $2,710 |
| 25th percentile | $47,300 | $22.74 | $38,426 | $3,202 |
| Median (50th) | $48,920 | $23.52 | $39,659 | $3,305 |
| 75th percentile | $57,210 | $27.50 | $45,968 | $3,831 |
| 90th percentile (top earners) | $63,030 | $30.30 | $50,397 | $4,200 |
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Take-home: single filer, Michigan resident, 2026 tax rules.
What $48,920 buys in Grand Rapids, MI
Prices in Grand Rapids, MI are 4.5% lower than the U.S. average (housing costs are 13% below the national average). Adjusted for local prices, a median welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers's $39,659 take-home pay has the buying power of $41,508 in a typical American city.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2026 (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities). Price levels: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.
Grand Rapids, MI has 1.6× the national concentration of welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers jobs — a strong local market for this occupation.
Best-paying cities for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers, adjusted for cost of living
Grand Rapids, MI ranks #26 of 31 metro areas once taxes and local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median salary | Take-home | Real value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baton Rouge, LA | $78,170 | $61,864 | $68,147 |
| 2 | Virginia Beach, VA | $62,670 | $49,746 | $50,792 |
| 3 | Kansas City, MO | $57,370 | $46,518 | $50,266 |
| 4 | Seattle, WA | $66,240 | $55,404 | $49,854 |
| 5 | Milwaukee, WI | $59,390 | $48,068 | $49,587 |
| 6 | Houston, TX | $57,940 | $48,735 | $49,412 |
| 7 | Tulsa, OK | $53,550 | $43,343 | $48,583 |
| 8 | Minneapolis, MN | $61,880 | $49,216 | $46,952 |
| 26 | Grand Rapids, MI | $48,920 | $39,659 | $41,508 |
*Take-home pay divided by the BEA price level, so every city is measured in U.S.-average dollars. See all 31 metros →
About the job: welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
- Typical education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience
- None required
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Job outlook, 2025–35
- +2.4% (about average)
Source: BLS Standard Occupational Classification and Employment Projections, 2025–35.
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers salaries elsewhere in Michigan
- Detroit, MI — $51,810
Frequently asked questions
How much does a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers make in Grand Rapids, MI?
The median welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers salary in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area is $48,920 a year, or about $23.52 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025). The middle half earn between $47,300 and $57,210.
What is a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers’s take-home pay in Grand Rapids, MI?
On the median $48,920 salary, a single filer living in Michigan takes home about $39,659 a year ($3,305 a month) after federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and $1,828 in Michigan taxes in 2026.
Is Grand Rapids, MI a good place to work as a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers?
Pay here is 9% below the national median of $53,750. Local prices are 4.5% below the U.S. average, so the take-home pay buys what $41,508 would in a typical U.S. city. Grand Rapids, MI ranks #26 of 31 metro areas for cost-of-living-adjusted pay in this job.
Can a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers afford rent in Grand Rapids, MI?
HUD’s fair market rent for a one-bedroom in Grand Rapids, MI is $1,242 a month ($1,479 for two bedrooms) — 38% of a median welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers’s monthly take-home pay. Financial planners usually suggest keeping rent under about 30%.
Related jobs in Grand Rapids, MI
- First-Line Supervisor of Production and Operating Workers — $66,330
- Machinist — $50,110
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing — $47,720
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic — $42,050
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operator and Tender — $41,890
- Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers — $40,430
- Miscellaneous Assembler and Fabricator — $39,120
- Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic — $37,760