Welders, Cutters & Solderers salary in Santa Maria, CA

Median pay for welders, cutters & solderers in Santa Maria, CA: $54,710/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $40,140 – $75,270 · about 250 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($48,615) by +$6,095 (+13%).

What it's really worth in Santa Maria

With Santa Maria's cost of living at 114 (US=100), that $54,710 has the buying power of about $48,106 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $92,332 · median home $1,005,339 · median rent $3,338/mo.

Full Santa Maria cost of living & taxes →

How Santa Maria ranks for this job

On raw pay, Santa Maria, CA is 37th of the 186 metros we hold welders, cutters & solderers wages for. Once Santa Maria's cost of living is applied, it ranks 150th.

The headline number flatters Santa Maria. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, welders, cutters & solderers here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Santa Maria

A median home in Santa Maria, CA costs $1,005,339 — about 18.4× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $3,338/mo works out at 73% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

Where welders, cutters & solderers earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Santa Maria.

Metro	Median pay	vs Santa Maria	Rent vs Santa Maria
Honolulu, HI	$76,540	+40%	0.9×
Baton Rouge, LA	$70,010	+28%	0.4×
Bremerton, WA	$66,310	+21%	0.6×
Virginia Beach, VA	$63,630	+16%	0.6×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Santa Maria	Rent vs Santa Maria
San Jose, CA	$62,880	+15%	1.1×
San Francisco, CA	$61,410	+12%	1×
Vallejo, CA	$60,780	+11%	0.7×
Sacramento, CA	$59,940	+10%	0.7×

Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

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