High employment rates are a boon for HR salaries, and Texas has one of the highest in the country, with a rock-bottom 3.4 percent unemployment rate… lower than the national average and the lowest in the state in more than 30 years. And the good times are set to keep on rolling… the Dallas Fed predicts 2.6 percent employment growth through 2019.
With the Permian basin keeping Midland’s economy popping, and major Fortune 500 businesses like Halliburton and Waste Management headquartered in Houston, and Dallas powerhouses like Exxon Mobil and Southwest Airlines all hiring, that growth is state-wide…the Texas Workforce Commission estimates that 2.1 million jobs will be added throughout the state by 2026.
Low unemployment means plenty of work in human resources as skilled professionals are brought in to manage the hiring, training, and retention work required by any large workforce. That high demand has already put Texas as the second highest employer for human resource specialists in the country, and is likely to translate into higher wages as it gets harder and harder to fill those positions.
Salary Ranges for Texas’s HR Professionals
Working in human resources in Texas means an opportunity to get into the field at a wide range of salary levels… from the $39,330 median wage of a human resource assistant, all the way up to a $200,400 annual salary for training and development managers at the top ten percent of the profession.
The field has roles that pay well above the national average at certain levels and others that come in slightly below their counterparts in other states. Naturally, earning an advanced degree and accumulating related, specialized experience will tend to push your earnings toward the high end of the field regardless of where you are located in the Lone Star state.
Human Resources Manager Salaries in Texas
HR managers in Texas enjoy the fourth highest level of employment in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2018. And there aren’t just plenty of jobs in Texas, but also high rates of pay, depending on your expertise and location… both HR and training and development managers make a median salary here above the national average.
Dallas
Dallas has the tenth highest employment level out of all metropolitan areas in the nation for training and development managers.
Houston
Houston not only employs a lot of HR managers, but also ranks at number eight in the nation for pay level for training and development managers in particular.
San Antonio
These are the employment levels and average salaries available to HR managers in the San Antonio area.
Human Resources Specialist and Assistant Salaries in Texas
Of course, managers rely on well-staffed HR departments to achieve strategic goals, and with the right degree you will find no shortage of specialized and generalist positions throughout Texas. In fact, Houston and Dallas come in at numbers six and seven nationally in BLS measures of total employment level for HR specialists.
Dallas
Dallas has the highest mean annual salary for HR specialists in the state.
Houston
Dallas may offer higher mean wages for HR specialists, but there are almost 1,000 more of these professionals working in Houston.
San Antonio
Although San Antonio doesn’t have the employment levels of other major metro areas in Texas, it’s still possible to bring home a six-figure income in the top ten percent in several HR staff roles.
Salary and employment data compiled by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2018 for human resources managers, specialists, and assistants – https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tx.htm#11-9111. The BLS salary data shown here represents median – 90th percentile salary ranges for the state and its MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries.
Job growth projections sourced from the Texas Workforce Commission and published in the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Long Term Occupational Projections (2016-2026) database – https://projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm. Employment conditions in your area may vary.
All salary and job growth data accessed in October 2019.