Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators salary
SOC 47-4061 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $45,640
- 25th
- $51,280
- Median
- $70,070
- 75th
- $81,670
- 90th
- $87,420
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $94,330 | 105.8 | 570 | 1.24× |
| 2 | Maryland | $92,030 | 105.0 | 320 | 0.91× |
| 3 | New York | $87,150 | 107.9 | 3,590 | 2.94× |
| 4 | Virginia | $84,750 | 101.1 | 360 | 0.70× |
| 5 | New Mexico | $83,370 | 92.2 | 80 | 0.77× |
| 6 | Delaware | $80,610 | 99.8 | 130 | 2.17× |
| 7 | Montana | $79,170 | 94.6 | 200 | 3.13× |
| 8 | Idaho | $79,020 | 95.5 | 90 | 0.79× |
| 9 | Illinois | $78,910 | 100.0 | 1,190 | 1.55× |
| 10 | Indiana | $78,020 | 93.3 | 320 | 0.79× |
| 11 | Arizona | $76,620 | 100.7 | 170 | 0.41× |
| 12 | Michigan | $75,450 | 96.2 | 290 | 0.53× |
| 13 | Kentucky | $73,120 | 90.2 | 270 | 1.08× |
| 14 | South Carolina | $71,770 | 93.7 | 30 | 0.11× |
| 15 | Wyoming | $71,580 | 92.7 | 220 | 6.35× |
| 16 | California | $71,170 | 110.7 | 770 | 0.34× |
| 17 | New Jersey | $66,540 | 108.8 | 230 | 0.42× |
| 18 | Tennessee | $66,390 | 91.9 | 260 | 0.62× |
| 19 | South Dakota | $64,500 | 88.6 | 110 | 1.96× |
| 20 | Missouri | $64,390 | 90.8 | 410 | 1.10× |
| 21 | Colorado | $64,300 | 103.1 | 300 | 0.83× |
| 22 | Utah | $63,190 | 98.9 | 60 | 0.28× |
| 23 | Georgia | $63,010 | 96.3 | 710 | 1.15× |
| 24 | Oklahoma | $61,860 | 87.8 | 310 | 1.46× |
| 25 | Florida | $61,220 | 103.4 | 490 | 0.39× |
| 26 | Arkansas | $60,230 | 86.9 | 150 | 0.89× |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $59,800 | 97.6 | 830 | 1.09× |
| 28 | Washington | $58,740 | 107.0 | 500 | 1.11× |
| 29 | Kansas | $58,590 | 90.1 | 310 | 1.71× |
| 30 | Nevada | $56,740 | 100.0 | 40 | 0.21× |
| 31 | West Virginia | $56,660 | 89.5 | 270 | 3.02× |
| 32 | Texas | $56,470 | 97.1 | 940 | 0.53× |
| 33 | Oregon | $50,930 | 103.4 | 190 | 0.75× |
| 34 | Minnesota | $49,640 | 98.6 | 760 | 2.05× |
| 35 | Ohio | $47,980 | 92.8 | 1,130 | 1.61× |
| 36 | Wisconsin | $47,920 | 94.1 | 180 | 0.49× |
| 37 | North Carolina | $47,700 | 94.3 | 270 | 0.44× |
| 38 | Iowa | $45,640 | 87.8 | 200 | 1.04× |
| 39 | Louisiana | $44,150 | 88.2 | — | — |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators
The 15 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $87,410 | 104.5 | 50 | 0.27× |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $87,150 | 112.6 | 2,710 | 2.27× |
| 3 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $85,240 | 108.3 | 280 | 0.82× |
| 4 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $75,280 | 113.6 | 90 | 0.11× |
| 5 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $65,060 | 106.4 | 130 | 0.62× |
| 6 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $62,030 | 102.6 | 50 | 0.15× |
| 7 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $61,050 | 105.1 | 30 | 0.83× |
| 8 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $60,120 | 103.6 | 220 | 0.39× |
| 9 | Pittsburgh, PA | $59,390 | 94.7 | 160 | 1.13× |
| 10 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $59,110 | 105.8 | 40 | 0.20× |
| 11 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $56,470 | 103.1 | 100 | 0.20× |
| 12 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $52,900 | 98.6 | 180 | 0.43× |
| 13 | Longview, TX | $50,140 | 89.5 | 90 | 6.36× |
| 14 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $48,150 | 114.2 | — | — |
| 15 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $45,090 | 104.8 | — | — |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Highway Maintenance Workers$50,260
- Construction and Building Inspectors$74,690
- Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$49,450
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$49,880
- Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers$49,910
- Fence Erectors$47,980
- Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers$109,910