Welding schools in Pennsylvania
42 welding training programs in Pennsylvania, sourced from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and the AWS ATF Domestic Site Listing.
California Shipbuilding Corporation, Wilmington, CA, 1942. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI, public domain
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Private schools carry more weight in Pennsylvania than in most states
Pennsylvania has 42 welding programs, and 20 of them are private, a bigger private share than a public two-year system state would show. That shows up in the price: median tuition among the 34 Pennsylvania programs reporting a figure is $15,970, well above the $4,728 national median across 916 programs.
Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh is the exception that proves the point, a public program at $4,842. Universal Technical Institute of Pennsylvania Inc in Exton runs $49,950, over ten times as much. Which end of that range a given program falls on is worth checking before enrolling anywhere in the state.
Where to look
Pittsburgh has the most programs on file at 4, with Johnstown next at 3. 10 of Pennsylvania's programs, close to a quarter of the state total, host a co-located AWS Accredited Test Facility, so testing for AWS Certified Welder doesn't require a separate trip.
Allentown, PA, Erie, PA, Philadelphia, PA and the rest of Pennsylvania's metros further down this page carry their own local shop directories, separate from the school listings above.
What welders earn in Pennsylvania
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (SOC 51-4121), retrieved via api.bls.gov 2026-08-05 reports a median welder wage of $52,900 a year in Pennsylvania, just under the $53,750 national median. Given the higher tuition programs charge here, that gap between what training costs and what the state pays is worth weighing against a cheaper out-of-state option. What welding school actually costs walks through that math.