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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

47-4061 Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

Lay, repair, and maintain track for standard or narrow-gauge railroad equipment used in regular railroad service or in plant yards, quarries, sand and gravel pits, and mines. Includes ballast cleaning machine operators and railroad bed tamping machine operators.


National estimates for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
Industry profile for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
Geographic profile for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

National estimates for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
21,030 3.6 % $ 29.22 $ 60,770 1.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 18.09 $ 23.11 $ 29.66 $ 37.29 $ 38.82
Annual Wage (2) $ 37,620 $ 48,070 $ 61,690 $ 77,560 $ 80,740


Industry profile for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rail Transportation 12,590 5.73 $ 28.31 $ 58,880
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 4,440 0.08 $ 35.13 $ 73,070
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 2,420 2.01 $ 19.51 $ 40,580
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 940 0.04 $ 39.81 $ 82,790
Support Activities for Rail Transportation 250 0.78 $ 30.24 $ 62,890

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rail Transportation 12,590 5.73 $ 28.31 $ 58,880
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 2,420 2.01 $ 19.51 $ 40,580
Support Activities for Rail Transportation 250 0.78 $ 30.24 $ 62,890
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 4,440 0.08 $ 35.13 $ 73,070
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 940 0.04 $ 39.81 $ 82,790

Top paying industries for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 940 0.04 $ 39.81 $ 82,790
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 4,440 0.08 $ 35.13 $ 73,070
Support Activities for Rail Transportation 250 0.78 $ 30.24 $ 62,890
Building Equipment Contractors (8) (8) $ 30.11 $ 62,630
Rail Transportation 12,590 5.73 $ 28.31 $ 58,880


Geographic profile for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators by state, May 2021


States with the highest employment level in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 4,770 0.55 3.68 $ 34.40 $ 71,560
Texas 2,690 0.22 1.48 $ 23.35 $ 48,560
Illinois 950 0.17 1.13 $ 30.04 $ 62,490
Pennsylvania 780 0.14 0.94 $ 26.06 $ 54,200
Minnesota 710 0.26 1.75 $ 25.03 $ 52,060


Map of location quotient of rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators by state, May 2021


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 4,770 0.55 3.68 $ 34.40 $ 71,560
Kansas 530 0.39 2.63 $ 24.46 $ 50,870
Wyoming 100 0.38 2.55 $ 31.55 $ 65,610
Nebraska 280 0.29 1.97 $ 28.06 $ 58,370
Minnesota 710 0.26 1.75 $ 25.03 $ 52,060


Map of annual mean wages of rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators by state, May 2021


Top paying states for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 4,770 0.55 3.68 $ 34.40 $ 71,560
California 390 0.02 0.16 $ 34.39 $ 71,540
North Carolina 240 0.05 0.37 $ 33.36 $ 69,390
Maryland 640 0.25 1.69 $ 32.46 $ 67,520
Missouri 610 0.22 1.50 $ 31.54 $ 65,610



Map of employment of rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators by area, May 2021


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 3,390 0.39 2.62 $ 36.60 $ 76,120
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 570 0.19 1.29 $ 32.75 $ 68,110
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 260 0.07 0.49 $ 17.85 $ 37,120
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 230 0.05 0.36 (8) (8)
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 170 0.13 0.90 $ 36.29 $ 75,470
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 60 0.05 0.30 $ 28.86 $ 60,020
Oklahoma City, OK 50 0.08 0.56 $ 16.63 $ 34,590
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 50 0.03 0.19 $ 28.59 $ 59,470


Map of location quotient of rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators by area, May 2021


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 3,390 0.39 2.62 $ 36.60 $ 76,120
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 570 0.19 1.29 $ 32.75 $ 68,110
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 170 0.13 0.90 $ 36.29 $ 75,470
Oklahoma City, OK 50 0.08 0.56 $ 16.63 $ 34,590
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 260 0.07 0.49 $ 17.85 $ 37,120
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 230 0.05 0.36 (8) (8)
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 60 0.05 0.30 $ 28.86 $ 60,020
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 50 0.03 0.19 $ 28.59 $ 59,470


Map of annual mean wages of rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators by area, May 2021


Top paying metropolitan areas for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 3,390 0.39 2.62 $ 36.60 $ 76,120
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 170 0.13 0.90 $ 36.29 $ 75,470
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 570 0.19 1.29 $ 32.75 $ 68,110
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 60 0.05 0.30 $ 28.86 $ 60,020
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 50 0.03 0.19 $ 28.59 $ 59,470
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC (8) (8) (8) $ 18.58 $ 38,650
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 260 0.07 0.49 $ 17.85 $ 37,120
Oklahoma City, OK 50 0.08 0.56 $ 16.63 $ 34,590


About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022