Start with the answer
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Tuscaloosa, AL and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders is $82,250 per year in Tuscaloosa, AL. It is $49,820 per year in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. Tuscaloosa, AL is 65.1% above Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-4122 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 40 wage and salary jobs in Tuscaloosa, AL and 220 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.