Where in the united states is a good place to weld?

The state that has the most employed welder workers in USA is Texas. However Texas isn't highest paid welder workers . Texas ranks 7 out of 10 when it comes to high salaries for welders. Houston, TX, Dallas, TX & Fort Worth, TX are some top cities in Texas with massive employment in welding. If you are looking to travel, Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA or Minneapolis- St Paul, MN ranks 3-6 in that order for some of the best welding areas to work in.

Julio,

"Good money" is a complicated subject. Some places are more expensive to live than others -rent costs wayyyy more, and so do other things. As an example, if you were living in Houston making $50,000, and moved to Los Angeles, you would need to make $71,000 to maintain the same standard of living. That means having a similar apartment, engaging in similar hobbies and leisure time activities, buying the same type of car, etc. You would not "get ahead," even though you were making $21,000 a year more!

https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx

The cost of living in Atlanta is about the same as Houston, so, if the salaries are higher in Atlanta, yes, you would be doing better to move there. The cost of living is a little lower in Dallas than in Houston. And just a little higher in Chicago than in Houston.

In Texas, the highest entry-level wages for welders is in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area and in Odessa ($41,000). The highest median wages of all welders in order, highest to lower, are: Beaumont/Port Arthur ($54,000), Odessa, Victoria, Corpus, Houston, Sherman/Dennison, Midland ($45,000). [El Paso is $29,000]

https://texaswages.com/MSAWages

(to use this website, first select the "type" of wages in the 4 brown boxes directly under "2018 Annual MSA wages" and click "Submit." a list of all occupations will pop up. Go to the search box in the upper right corner. Type "Welder." information will be filtered out and you will see the welder information. There is a scroll bar across the bottom of the screen that lets you see all the cities.)

In welding, it is often your skill level that determines how much you can earn. Welders who take pride in their work, and can make a real pretty bead, or who can weld different types of metals (stainless steel or aluminum, for example), or being able to weld in different positions. They rate this as 1G - 6G. Sometimes what you are welding is flat on a table in front of you. Sometimes it is up over your head! (pipes, etc).

Finally, I know it's an old saying, but money does not buy happiness. You might not be happy if you move far away from your family. You might not be happy in other cities, where people are not as friendly as they are in Texas. If you move far away, and plan to return home periodically, you will need to factor in the cost of those trips.

I hope this helps!

Kim