Route R3 · Salary
What does a welding inspector earn?
BLS doesn't track welding inspectors separately, so there's no government pay figure for welding inspectors or CWIs. The nearest line it publishes, SOC 51-9061 (inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers), had a median pay of $48,570 a year, or $23.35 an hour, in May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, checked October 2026).
- Exam
- CWI
- Updated
- October 2026
R3.1Why there's no CWI line
BLS sorts jobs by occupation code. A credential like the CWI isn't an occupation, and welding inspection doesn't get a code of its own. Search O*NET for "welding inspector" and the first inspector code it returns is 51-9061, the group BLS writes up as Quality Control Inspectors.
That group's wide. It puts the person checking welds on a bridge girder in the same bucket as someone sorting parts at the end of a line or weighing samples in a lab. One median across all of them is context for the trade, and it isn't a CWI pay rate.
R3.2What BLS does publish
| Measure | Figure | Read it as |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual pay | $48,570 | Half the group earned more, half less |
| Median hourly pay | $23.35 | Same median, per hour |
| Jobs | 602,000 | The whole group, every industry |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | +3% | Growth for the whole group |
The BLS page for this group was last modified August 27, 2026.
R3.3What the median leaves out
A median says nothing about overtime, per diem, travel, shift premiums or which industry you land in. It doesn't say anything about the CWI itself either. BLS never asks who holds which credential, so no BLS figure can tell you what the card adds. Treat any "CWI raise" percentage you see quoted with that in mind.
When you compare job ads, line up like with like: base rate against base rate, with travel pay listed separately. The OOH page also has a state and area tab for the same group.
The cost side is published
AWS lists $1,255 for members or $1,520 for non-members for the three exam parts, then $630 or $895 for each renewal by work experience at years 3 and 6 (AWS CWI page, checked October 2026). Details sit on the CWI exam cost page and CWI renewal.
The other inspection credentials have the same gap. Neither the SCWI nor API 577 shows up as its own BLS line.
R3.4Pay questions, straight answers
What is the average CWI salary?
We don't print one: no source we can cite tracks CWI pay. BLS has no CWI or welding-inspector line; its closest group, SOC 51-9061, had a median of $48,570 a year in May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, checked October 2026). That's a median for the whole group of inspectors and testers.
What's the hourly rate for welding inspectors?
BLS gives $23.35 an hour as the May 2025 median for SOC 51-9061, the nearest group it tracks. It doesn't publish a welding-inspector rate.
Is the job growing?
For the 51-9061 group as a whole, BLS projects +3% from 2025 to 2035 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, checked October 2026). There's no separate projection for welding inspectors.
How do I get into the trade in the first place?
Work years, an eye exam and three exam parts. The route's laid out on how to become a welding inspector, and the experience table's on CWI requirements.
R3.5Sources
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Quality Control Inspectors — SOC 51-9061, May 2025 wages, 2025 to 2035 outlook (checked October 2026)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Construction and Building Inspectors — SOC 47-4011, context only (checked October 2026)
- AWS CWI page — exam and renewal fees (checked October 2026)
Pay talk aside, the exam still has to be passed
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