These are the highest paying jobs in Texas, report finds
(NEXSTAR) – If you can't stop inflation, you can at least try and get a pay raise.
U.S. News & World Report recently released its 2023 jobs report, including a breakdown of the cities where workers can take home top dollar. The analysts took every job title that U.S. News & World Report tracks and found the metro areas where those professions earn the most.
Twenty career types have especially high salaries to be found in Texas cities, according to the report.
Dallas is one of the best cities to be a podiatrist, where the average salary is $219,000 according U.S. News & World Report.
Solar panel installers in El Paso are especially well paid, with a mean salary of $61,400.
No major league sports team? No problem. In Lubbock, sports coaches can still make the big bucks – over $90,000 a year on average according to U.S. News & World Report.
It's not exactly the same career path, but you can make even more as a radiation therapist in McAllen, where the average salary is $129,670. Also in the health care field, nurse anesthetists are highly paid everywhere, but especially in San Antonio ($262,560).
Austin, Houston and Midland each ranked highly for more than one profession.
Austin is among the top five highest paying cities for:
- Obstetrician and gynecologist: $375,200
- Operations research analyst: $118,710
- Pediatrician: $298,760
- Petroleum engineer: $166,680
- Physician: $375,200
Houston is in the top five highest paying cities for:
- Environmental engineer: $131,700
- Mechanical engineer: $125,970
- Operations research analyst: $127,330
- Pediatrician: $291,940
- Podiatrist: $190,670
- Wind turbine technician: $57,240
Midland is among the top five highest paying cities for:
- Accountant: $95,380
- Environmental engineer: $126,730
- Physical therapist: $116,880
- Physical therapist assistant: $75,550
- Real estate agent: $100,060
While the cost of living varies throughout a state as big as Texas, each of the aforementioned average salaries would be enough to make you middle or upper class in any city. The median income in the Lone Star State was $34,255 in 2021, according Census data.
The Texas job market is strong – though just a bit weaker than the national average. The U.S. unemployment rate is at 3.5%, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while Texas' is at 4%.