If you’re a welder, anywhere you go in the world would give you opportunities. But if you’re thinking of taking your career to the next level, we give you five of the best states for welding jobs in the US.
According to Chron, the average base pay of welders in the United States is around $44,000 annually if a welder works full time. That’s just the national average. With specialty skills, welders can bring in $20,000 more. An article by The Wall Street Journal in 2014 featured a 24-year-old Texan welder who earned $140,000 right after graduating from Texas State Technical College. This just proves that working in the US can be quite luxurious for welders but it can also depend on the particular city you choose.
5 Best States for Welding Jobs in the US
Texas
Texas is also known as the welding capital of the United States mainly because of the many jobs available. There are over 50,000 welders employed across Texas. Houston is a major city to explore with more than 18.000 welding jobs available. Beaumont-Port Arthur area is also an option. Not as many jobs offered but it only has a population of around 410,000 with only a few welders living in the area as compared to Houston with around 2.3 million residents.
Welders earn an average of $39,000 a year with the bottom 10 percent who make $28,000 a year while the top 10 percent make $45,000.
Wyoming
Wyoming is the 10th largest state by area and is also the least populous and second most sparsely populated state in the US. According to Senior Job Bank, welders are included in the Top 10 of the list of jobs relatively more common in Wyoming than elsewhere.
In Wyoming, the national average a welder earns is $36,364 per year. That’s $17 an hour. Those in the bottom10 percent earn $27,000 while the highest 10 percent earns $48,000.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is known for major recreational attractions like skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, mountaineering, and other winter sports. It has a broad-based and growing economy with a GDP growth rate of 2.2% in 2018. It had the nation’s lowest poverty rate in 2013 according to the Census Bureau.
The average salary for a welder in New Hampshire is $41,000 or $17 per hour. The bottom 10% earns $28,000 while the top percent make around $45,000.
Nevada
Nevada, also known as the Silver State, because of its importance to silver in history, and is the fourth-largest producer of gold in the world. Its industrial outputs include tourism, minings, entertainment, printing and publishing, machinery, food processing, and electric equipment.
Welders in Nevada earn around $45,000 a year or $17 per hour. The bottom 10 percent earn $28,000 while the top 10 percent earn more than $45,000.
Alaska
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Alaska has the highest average annual salary for welders at $71,570. Working here would mean you get double of what other welders in other mainland cities earn. While it’s the highest paying state for welding jobs, not a lot of job opportunities are open with just under one welding job per thousand.