Welder Salary in South East
Official ONS earnings for South East.
Median salary — South East
£38,059
gross, per year, all employees
Mean
£40,041
What a typical welder takes home
On the median of £38,059, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,577
Take-home a year
£30,922
Income Tax
£5,098
National Insurance
£2,039
What most welders actually earn
Half of welders across the UK earn between £29,795 and £43,009. Earning above £43,009 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
This range is UK-wide — ONS publishes no regional breakdown of the spread for this occupation.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of welders earn less than this.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Welding trades
- SOC 2020 code
- 5213
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
ONS publishes a sampling error of 17.5% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank South East against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Welder salary FAQs
What is the average Welder salary in South East?
The median is £38,059 a year and the mean is £40,041, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
How much does a welder earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £16.76 excluding overtime. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for South East.
What is a good Welder salary?
Half of welders earn between £29,795 and £43,009. Anything above £43,009 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a welder?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of welders earn under £23,882 and the lowest quarter under £29,795 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Do welders in South East earn more than the UK average?
The median in South East is £38,059 against £35,952 across the UK, 5.9% higher. ONS marks the South East figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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