High paying transportation jobs in West Virginia

Every transportation occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in West Virginia. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single transportation job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in West Virginia run 10.5% below the national average (2024), so a West Virginia salary is worth about 1.12× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in West Virginia.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find transportation jobs in West Virginia

OccupationMedian, West Virginia · Employed

1Locomotive Engineers$64,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$62,880 – $90,080340
2Conveyor Operators and Tenders$62,830
No formal educational credential
$39,400 – $74,810580
3Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters$55,180
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,570 – $99,330320
4First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$52,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,220 – $90,7502,670
5Wellhead Pumpers$52,170
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,900 – $74,600660
6Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$49,480
Postsecondary nondegree award
$36,350 – $72,23012,190
7Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$41,670
No formal educational credential
$28,700 – $54,9201,400
8Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$39,260
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,710 – $49,430520
9Light Truck Drivers$38,860
High school diploma or equivalent
$23,950 – $93,7903,330
10Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$36,990
No formal educational credential
$27,270 – $50,24011,300
11Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$35,840
No formal educational credential
$26,520 – $47,9601,000
12Stockers and Order Fillers$34,510
No formal educational credential
$27,550 – $44,51012,520
13Bus Drivers, School$33,360
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,610 – $36,6704,690
14Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$31,790
No formal educational credential
$28,730 – $60,760240
15Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$29,390
No formal educational credential
$23,920 – $36,7301,260
16Driver/Sales Workers$28,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$18,760 – $58,4102,540
17Packers and Packagers, Hand$28,740
No formal educational credential
$21,970 – $44,4801,140
18Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$27,950
No formal educational credential
$21,750 – $40,6101,000

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianWest Virginia	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Locomotive EngineersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,400	$62,880 – $90,080	340
2	Conveyor Operators and TendersNo formal educational credential	$62,830	$39,400 – $74,810	580
3	Railroad Conductors and YardmastersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,180	$46,570 – $99,330	320
4	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,420	$36,220 – $90,750	2,670
5	Wellhead PumpersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,170	$36,900 – $74,600	660
6	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$49,480	$36,350 – $72,230	12,190
7	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$41,670	$28,700 – $54,920	1,400
8	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,260	$30,710 – $49,430	520
9	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,860	$23,950 – $93,790	3,330
10	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$36,990	$27,270 – $50,240	11,300
11	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$35,840	$26,520 – $47,960	1,000
12	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$34,510	$27,550 – $44,510	12,520
13	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$33,360	$29,610 – $36,670	4,690
14	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$31,790	$28,730 – $60,760	240
15	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$29,390	$23,920 – $36,730	1,260
16	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$28,790	$18,760 – $58,410	2,540
17	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$28,740	$21,970 – $44,480	1,140
18	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$27,950	$21,750 – $40,610	1,000

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in West Virginia. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for West Virginia

Metro areas in West Virginia

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in West Virginia

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in West Virginia to rank honestly.

High paying transportation jobs in West Virginia

More for West Virginia

Metro areas in West Virginia

By field in West Virginia

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state