in your state,what would this job pay (average, degree, jobs)

[desert sun]

This thread is just to give me an idea of what a plumber or a landscaper makes an hour starting off, so what would one of these two pay in your city or state? Here in NM a landscaper would normally start off anywhere from $8 to $10 and Im not too sure about a plumber.

[azoria]

I lived in Texas for many years and now live in Seattle. Wages here are so much higher than Texas it blows my mind.

Mind you Washington is a union state not a 'right to work' state as is Texas. That means that if your company is a union company (most are, including government jobs) you MUST join the affiliated labor union. You must pay union dues and most benefits are administered by the union.

Difference being that a lot of jobs in Texas don't even come with benefits, administered by anybody.

As it just so happens I too am in the landscaping business. Check Seattle's craigslist and you'll find that a lot of landscaping type jobs are paying $10-$15 an hour. That's more than twice what the pay for the same work is in Texas. And a lot of them are year round with benefits!

Compared to Texas that just amazing. Because of legal/illegal immigration in Texas and lassaiz fare government, those kinds of jobs typically pay minimum wage and NO benefits. And let's face it, the average 20 year old Mexican can work circles around the average middle aged American (like me) for 10 hours in 100 degree heat.

I suspect to generalize, the farther north you go from the border, and better yet a 'union state', the better the wages and benefits are.

Go north desert sun!

[Bydand]

In northern Maine they both start as minimum wage jobs with no benefits. Southern Maine is different though as far as Plumbers go, can't say for Landscapers.

[KevK]

In Atlanta, landscaper about $10 an hour and plumber around $22 to $28 depending on experience.

[NYSD1995]

In CA a plumber can make anywhere from 20 to 40+ / hr.
Landscaper is an 8-10 dollar an hour job

[Boo2lowkey]

My buddy start at $14 as a plumber apprentice in Chicagoland Illinois with a increase every 6 months until he reach scale which is over $32 plus benifits.

[desert sun]

Originally Posted by azoria

I lived in Texas for many years and now live in Seattle. Wages here are so much higher than Texas it blows my mind.

Mind you Washington is a union state not a 'right to work' state as is Texas. That means that if your company is a union company (most are, including government jobs) you MUST join the affiliated labor union. You must pay union dues and most benefits are administered by the union.

Difference being that a lot of jobs in Texas don't even come with benefits, administered by anybody.

As it just so happens I too am in the landscaping business. Check Seattle's craigslist and you'll find that a lot of landscaping type jobs are paying $10-$15 an hour. That's more than twice what the pay for the same work is in Texas. And a lot of them are year round with benefits!

Compared to Texas that just amazing. Because of legal/illegal immigration in Texas and lassaiz fare government, those kinds of jobs typically pay minimum wage and NO benefits. And let's face it, the average 20 year old Mexican can work circles around the average middle aged American (like me) for 10 hours in 100 degree heat.

I suspect to generalize, the farther north you go from the border, and better yet a 'union state', the better the wages and benefits are.

Go north desert sun!

thanks for the info,Amarillo or Lubbock,Texas is one of my choices if I do move in the future,I knew jobs paid less than here but min.wage just sucks.

[country pride]

You can do a search on 'landscaper wages in ..... (state)' and that should tell you. Ive done it before and found some pretty helpful information.

[kanhawk]

In Washington, landscaping jobs go from a low of around $10/hr to as high as $16/hr depending on experience and if you are working in Seattle itself which seems to offer higher salaries.