Rail Car Repairers salary

SOC 49-3043 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$67,530

per year, nationally

Middle half

$54,520–$84,570

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

21,350

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+2.8%

1,500 openings/yr

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.

$46,800$95,100

10th: $46,800
25th: $54,520
Median: $67,530
75th: $84,570
90th: $95,100

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Long-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where rail car repairers 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	$108,680	105.8	770	1.54×
2	Maryland	$89,430	105.0	560	1.48×
3	Oregon	$87,470	103.4	230	0.85×
4	Colorado	$86,630	103.1	250	0.63×
5	Idaho	$85,420	95.5	110	0.98×
6	New York	$84,580	107.9	1,730	1.30×
7	Illinois	$84,570	100.0	1,850	2.21×
8	Utah	$83,980	98.9	100	0.41×
9	Virginia	$83,720	101.1	210	0.37×
10	Arizona	$81,230	100.7	170	0.37×
11	Delaware	$78,900	99.8	130	1.99×
12	New Jersey	$78,750	108.8	410	0.70×
13	Minnesota	$77,800	98.6	170	0.41×
14	South Dakota	$71,750	88.6	90	1.48×
15	California	$68,370	110.7	700	0.28×
16	Missouri	$68,290	90.8	220	0.54×
17	New Mexico	$67,550	92.2	120	0.98×
18	Michigan	$64,370	96.2	370	0.61×
19	Georgia	$64,230	96.3	980	1.46×
20	Washington	$63,410	107.0	180	0.37×
21	Pennsylvania	$62,350	97.6	970	1.16×
22	Florida	$62,260	103.4	410	0.30×
23	Iowa	$60,550	87.8	340	1.61×
24	Oklahoma	$60,540	87.8	90	0.40×
25	Indiana	$60,490	93.3	670	1.53×
26	Maine	$60,090	97.0	70	0.74×
27	Tennessee	$60,090	91.9	320	0.70×
28	Kentucky	$59,430	90.2	770	2.81×
29	Texas	$59,330	97.1	2,690	1.39×
30	Wyoming	$59,040	92.7	250	6.57×
31	Wisconsin	$58,870	94.1	220	0.54×
32	Alabama	$58,080	88.8	280	0.96×
33	Arkansas	$53,810	86.9	340	1.90×
34	Ohio	$53,480	92.8	690	0.91×
35	West Virginia	$50,800	89.5	100	1.06×
36	Kansas	$48,160	90.1	300	1.54×
37	Nevada	$48,100	100.0	50	0.25×
38	Louisiana	$47,970	88.2	190	0.70×
39	North Carolina	$47,880	94.3	350	0.51×
40	Mississippi	$47,480	87.0	320	2.01×

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 car repairers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for rail car repairers

The 18 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	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$103,540	108.9	250	0.58×
2	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$92,250	112.6	800	0.61×
3	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$89,430	104.5	230	1.21×
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$87,470	105.4	150	0.89×
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$76,870	97.3	70	0.37×
6	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$62,250	103.6	570	0.92×
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$61,120	102.6	90	0.21×
8	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$59,820	103.1	370	0.67×
9	Pittsburgh, PA	$59,810	94.7	90	0.56×
10	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$59,310	98.6	790	1.74×
11	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$58,120	94.7	130	0.85×
12	Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	$56,820	90.0	190	8.62×
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$54,120	113.6	80	0.09×
14	Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	$53,530	98.7	40	0.93×
15	Kansas City, MO-KS	$50,910	92.5	80	0.54×
16	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$49,910	111.9	110	0.50×
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$46,480	100.3	70	0.26×
18	Wichita, KS	$38,840	88.9	40	1.04×

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 car repairers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics$50,620
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists$61,770
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines$65,510
Automotive Body and Related Repairers$54,890
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians$79,870
Tire Repairers and Changers$37,710
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians$56,550
Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics$47,880