How much do Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI?

Percentile spread

For Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, the published 10th percentile is $35,480 and the 90th percentile is $50,160. The difference is $14,680, which is 35.2% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $37,820 to the 75th at $47,180, covers $9,360.

The mean annual wage is $42,860, which sits above the median of $41,760. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI median is 12.9% lower than the national median of $47,920 for Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. In 2024 national prices the local median is $43,707, which is 8.8% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 1.8% lower than the Michigan median of $42,530.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI is 95.546, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $41,760 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders at $43,707 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

20 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI ranks 16th of 21 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI is 47 miles away, with a median of $42,830 and employment of 90. That median is 2.6% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $46,293, against $43,707 here.
• Kalamazoo-Portage, MI is 52 miles away, with a median of $40,240 and employment of 170. That median is 3.6% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $42,429, against $43,707 here.
• Lansing-East Lansing, MI is 59 miles away, with a median of $47,380 and employment of 50. That median is 13.5% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $49,878, against $43,707 here.

Employment share

Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders accounts for 0.12% of wage-and-salary employment in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI (730 of 598,260). Nationally the occupation is 0.02% of employment (31,600 of 155,495,730). The local share is 6.00 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.