47 Series · SOC 47-2011
Boilermakers Salary
National pay, percentile range, growth outlook, and state-by-state detail from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (May 2025).
- $76,410
- Median / year
- $110,370
- Top 10% earn
- -2.4%
- Growth '23–'33
- 10,190
- US workers
Boilermakers earn a median of $76,410 per year.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey, the median annual wage is $76,410, based on the most recent survey of employers. Reported pay ranges from $50,490 (10th percentile) to $110,370 (90th percentile) nationally, across roughly 10,190 US workers. California pays the most ($118,150), since pay varies by state and metro area.
The pay verdict
Boilermakers earn a median of $76,410, putting them above the typical US occupation and higher than 68% of the 825 occupations with a published BLS median. Within Construction and Extraction, it ranks #4 of 60 by median pay. Employment is projected to fall 2.4% by 2033.
- $76,410
- Median annual wage
- Top 32%
- of 825 US occupations with published wages
- #4 of 60
- in Construction and Extraction
- 2.2×
- 90th-to-10th pay spread
Highest-paying state: California at $118,150. Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
Boilermakers (SOC 47-2011) pays a national median of $76,410 per year according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey released in May 2025. Full-range compensation stretches from $50,490 at the 10th percentile to $110,370 at the 90th, with a mean of $80,090 indicating a right-skew where top earners pull the average above the midpoint. An estimated 10,190 Americans work in this occupation across 38 reporting states and 31 metro areas.
BLS Employment Projections forecast a -2.4% change in employment from 2024 to 2034, which the agency classifies as declining relative to the 5% all-occupations baseline. About 800 openings are projected per year, combining new positions with replacement needs from retirements and occupation-switchers. Typical entry-level preparation is High school diploma or equivalent and apprenticeship of on-the-job training. The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) produce a workplace-safety grade of B for this role, with a fatality rate of 12.4 per 100,000 and injury rate of 3.5 per 100.
Geographic variation matters as much as the headline median. California pays the highest state median at $118,150, which is +55% above the national figure. The top metro is San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at $135,290 - metro premiums typically reflect higher cost of living, industry concentration, or specialized employer demand. When using this page for negotiation or career planning, pair the national median with the state and metro rows below, remember that BLS wages exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime, and revisit after each May OEWS release since percentiles shift with cost-of-living cycles and industry demand. See our methodology for exactly how these figures are sourced, computed, and verified.
Median Salary
$76,410
per year
Median Hourly
$36.74/hr
per hour
Mean Salary
$80,090
average
Employment
10,190
jobs nationwide
How does this pay compare nationally?
Where Boilermakers pay sits nationally
Median annual wage vs. 825 detailed BLS occupations with a published median
$76,410 Top 32% higher than 68% of 825 US occupations
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · May 2025
Does this job pay well and grow?
Each dot is a 47-series occupation, placed by projected 2024–2034 growth and median pay. The highlighted dot is Boilermakers; the upper-right quadrant is the sweet spot (high pay + fast growth).
Among 25 47-series occupations with growth data, Boilermakers sits on the slower-growing side at -2.4% growth and $76,410 median pay.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (wages, May 2025) and Employment Projections (2024–2034).
Job Outlook (2024–2034)
Projected Growth
-2.4%
Declining
Annual Openings
800
per year (projected)
Typical Education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-Job Training
Apprenticeship
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034
Workplace Safety
All safety ratings →Safe
Safety Grade (BLS 2023)
Fatality Rate
12.4/100K
Injury Rate
3.5/100
Danger Index
20.2/100
Source: BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) & Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), 2023
Career Intelligence
Skills, knowledge, and tasks most important for Boilermakers roles, ranked by importance. Source: O*NET.
Top Skills
Knowledge Areas
Key Tasks
- ▸ Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers.
- ▸ Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
- ▸ Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit.
- ▸ Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
- ▸ Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
- ▸ Lay out plate, sheet steel, or other heavy metal and locate and mark bending and cutting lines, using protractors, compasses, and drawing instruments or templates.
- ▸ Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints.
- ▸ Locate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments.
- ▸ Shape or fabricate parts, such as stacks, uptakes, or chutes, to adapt pressure vessels, heat exchangers, or piping to premises, using heavy-metalworking machines such as brakes, rolls, or drill presses.
- ▸ Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.
Source: O*NET Online, National Center for O*NET Development. Data represents typical importance ratings for this occupation.
Salary Range
Annual Salary Distribution
Hourly Rate Distribution
10th Percentile
$50,490
25th Percentile
$64,760
Median
$76,410
75th Percentile
$95,430
90th Percentile
$110,370
Salary by State
Highest Paying States
View all 38 states →
| # | State | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $118,150 | +55% above national |
| 2 | Mississippi | $105,910 | +39% above national |
| 3 | New Mexico | $101,200 | +32% above national |
| 4 | Illinois | $99,730 | +31% above national |
| 5 | Michigan | $98,220 | +29% above national |
| 6 | Wisconsin | $97,590 | +28% above national |
| 7 | Minnesota | $96,190 | +26% above national |
| 8 | Washington | $95,200 | +25% above national |
| 9 | Indiana | $91,410 | +20% above national |
| 10 | Colorado | $89,350 | +17% above national |
| 11 | Idaho | $88,400 | +16% above national |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | $86,850 | +14% above national |
| 13 | Ohio | $85,550 | +12% above national |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $85,470 | +12% above national |
| 15 | New York | $84,770 | +11% above national |
| 16 | Iowa | $82,470 | +8% above national |
| 17 | New Jersey | $82,410 | +8% above national |
| 18 | Connecticut | $80,360 | +5% above national |
| 19 | Missouri | $78,550 | +3% above national |
| 20 | Arizona | $77,940 | +2% above national |
| 21 | Wyoming | $77,900 | +2% above national |
| 22 | Oklahoma | $77,750 | +2% above national |
| 23 | Arkansas | $76,810 | +1% above national |
| 24 | Texas | $75,750 | 1% below national |
| 25 | South Carolina | $74,840 | 2% below national |
| 26 | Kentucky | $74,810 | 2% below national |
| 27 | Louisiana | $73,980 | 3% below national |
| 28 | Kansas | $72,170 | 6% below national |
| 29 | Florida | $69,790 | 9% below national |
| 30 | Virginia | $67,540 | 12% below national |
| 31 | Georgia | $64,200 | 16% below national |
| 32 | West Virginia | $63,850 | 16% below national |
| 33 | Alabama | $63,570 | 17% below national |
| 34 | Nevada | $61,430 | 20% below national |
| 35 | Tennessee | $51,810 | 32% below national |
| 36 | North Carolina | $49,720 | 35% below national |
| 37 | Maryland | $42,250 | 45% below national |
| 38 | Puerto Rico | $29,120 | 62% below national |
Salary by Metro Area
Highest Paying Metros
View all 31 metro areas →
| # | Metro Area | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $135,290 | +77% above national |
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $110,370 | +44% above national |
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $109,640 | +43% above national |
| 4 | Toledo, OH | $107,780 | +41% above national |
| 5 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $106,790 | +40% above national |
| 6 | Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $105,910 | +39% above national |
| 7 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $105,430 | +38% above national |
| 8 | Farmington, NM | $101,250 | +33% above national |
| 9 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $100,110 | +31% above national |
| 10 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $94,640 | +24% above national |
| 11 | Pittsburgh, PA | $91,420 | +20% above national |
| 12 | Cleveland, OH | $90,980 | +19% above national |
| 13 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $86,910 | +14% above national |
| 14 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $82,420 | +8% above national |
| 15 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | $77,290 | +1% above national |
| 16 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $77,090 | +1% above national |
| 17 | Baton Rouge, LA | $74,730 | 2% below national |
| 18 | Northwestern Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area | $73,490 | 4% below national |
| 19 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $73,060 | 4% below national |
| 20 | Lafayette, LA | $70,720 | 7% below national |
| 21 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | $68,350 | 11% below national |
| 22 | Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | $67,010 | 12% below national |
| 23 | West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $66,780 | 13% below national |
| 24 | Corpus Christi, TX | $64,660 | 15% below national |
| 25 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $64,200 | 16% below national |
| 26 | Tulsa, OK | $64,110 | 16% below national |
| 27 | Decatur, AL | $64,060 | 16% below national |
| 28 | Birmingham, AL | $64,000 | 16% below national |
| 29 | Balance of Nevada nonmetropolitan area | $59,850 | 22% below national |
| 30 | Knoxville, TN | $51,430 | 33% below national |
| 31 | West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area | $47,130 | 38% below national |
Similar Occupations in the Same Category
Other roles in SOC major group 47 (construction and extraction) with comparable pay and career paths.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Boilermakers make? ▼
What state pays Boilermakers the most? ▼
What education do you need to become a Boilermakers? ▼
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Is Boilermakers a good career? ▼
How does Boilermakers pay vary by state? ▼
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What to do with this data
How to use Boilermakers pay figures in a real decision
- For an experienced offer, anchor on the 75th percentile (about $95,430/year), not the median. The median marks the middle worker; the upper quartile is the realistic target with strong experience. Salary calculator
- Location moves pay significantly: California leads at $118,150/year for this role. Weigh state pay against local cost of living before relocating or negotiating remote. Pay by state
- Compare this occupation against similar roles before you decide, so you are reading the pay band in context rather than in isolation. Compare jobs
These are BLS survey estimates for the occupation, not a salary offer or a prediction for any individual. Your pay depends on experience, employer, exact role, and location.
Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. This occupation's figures are computed directly from the BLS OEWS and Employment Projections datasets, nothing is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or career advice. Actual pay for a specific role, employer, or offer may differ from these national/state figures, consult a qualified career counselor, recruiter, or financial advisor before making decisions based on this data.