Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators salary

SOC 51-8021 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$78,620

per year, nationally

Middle half

$63,160–$101,150

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

28,250

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+2.2%

3,800 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.

$50,590$125,390

10th: $50,590
25th: $63,160
Median: $78,620
75th: $101,150
90th: $125,390

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 stationary engineers and boiler 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	Illinois	$115,780	100.0	1,680	1.52×
2	Wyoming	$111,920	92.7	100	1.98×
3	Hawaii	$103,400	110.0	70	0.59×
4	Connecticut	$94,870	103.6	270	0.87×
5	New York	$94,070	107.9	4,480	2.55×
6	Washington	$91,530	107.0	520	0.80×
7	California	$90,650	110.7	5,840	1.76×
8	District of Columbia	$90,470	109.9	620	4.89×
9	Alaska	$88,330	102.4	90	1.52×
10	Maryland	$85,240	105.0	850	1.70×
11	Michigan	$82,800	96.2	490	0.61×
12	Colorado	$81,310	103.1	560	1.08×
13	Massachusetts	$80,800	105.8	530	0.80×
14	Nevada	$79,110	100.0	60	0.20×
15	Montana	$77,690	94.6	110	1.22×
16	Delaware	$77,630	99.8	40	0.47×
17	New Jersey	$76,560	108.8	1,400	1.80×
18	Utah	$76,490	98.9	110	0.36×
19	Minnesota	$75,850	98.6	1,440	2.69×
20	Ohio	$75,470	92.8	760	0.75×
21	Arizona	$75,410	100.7	80	0.13×
22	New Mexico	$74,480	92.2	100	0.66×
23	Pennsylvania	$72,900	97.6	1,730	1.57×
24	South Carolina	$72,650	93.7	170	0.40×
25	Missouri	$72,620	90.8	380	0.72×
26	Tennessee	$72,470	91.9	370	0.62×
27	Georgia	$70,640	96.3	240	0.27×
28	Oklahoma	$68,450	87.8	180	0.57×
29	Vermont	$68,400	98.0	70	1.18×
30	South Dakota	$68,090	88.6	90	1.09×
31	Oregon	$67,630	103.4	330	0.92×
32	Indiana	$67,560	93.3	290	0.50×
33	Iowa	$67,450	87.8	190	0.67×
34	Kentucky	$66,770	90.2	90	0.25×
35	North Dakota	$66,760	89.0	140	1.76×
36	New Hampshire	$66,180	104.2	60	0.48×
37	Florida	$65,040	103.4	170	0.10×
38	Nebraska	$64,930	90.1	290	1.56×
39	Kansas	$64,490	90.1	120	0.45×
40	Idaho	$64,460	95.5	120	0.79×
41	Virginia	$64,150	101.1	350	0.47×
42	Texas	$63,810	97.1	890	0.35×
43	Rhode Island	$63,330	102.3	60	0.63×
44	Maine	$62,910	97.0	290	2.46×
45	Wisconsin	$61,170	94.1	270	0.51×
46	North Carolina	$60,860	94.3	220	0.25×
47	Arkansas	$58,000	86.9	200	0.84×
48	Mississippi	$53,640	87.0	200	0.94×
49	Alabama	$53,470	88.8	220	0.57×
50	West Virginia	$53,340	89.5	40	0.28×
51	Louisiana	$47,750	88.2	290	0.82×

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 stationary engineers and boiler operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for stationary engineers and boiler operators

The 40 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	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$129,930	115.6	980	2.27×
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$123,170	110.4	210	1.04×
3	Vallejo, CA	$123,170	108.5	110	4.33×
4	Springfield, IL	$117,590	92.7	60	3.46×
5	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$115,780	103.6	1,210	1.48×
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$112,250	111.1	210	0.56×
7	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$104,810	112.6	3,810	2.21×
8	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$103,690	105.1	50	1.03×
9	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$103,380	100.1	80	3.58×
10	Urban Honolulu, HI	$103,060	111.0	40	0.47×
11	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$99,840	106.7	520	2.67×
12	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$97,470	106.9	80	1.08×
13	El Centro, CA	$96,150	95.2	40	3.42×
14	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$94,870	102.7	110	0.97×
15	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$94,100	100.9	110	1.80×
16	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$92,420	110.5	70	1.20×
17	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$91,480	108.9	970	1.70×
18	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$90,830	99.8	30	1.06×
19	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$87,700	100.3	220	0.63×
20	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$87,170	106.4	370	1.20×
21	Fresno, CA	$87,140	102.2	120	1.43×
22	Lima, OH	$85,930	89.7	30	3.60×
23	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$85,690	108.6	70	3.38×
24	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$85,180	89.1	40	1.31×
25	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$83,950	108.3	340	0.68×
26	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$83,530	104.5	410	1.68×
27	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$83,350	103.3	40	0.09×
28	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$82,100	105.8	340	1.18×
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$81,250	105.4	100	0.45×
30	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$79,720	102.6	740	1.40×
31	Columbus, OH	$79,680	95.5	120	0.60×
32	Anchorage, AK	$79,320	105.4	40	1.09×
33	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$79,160	95.7	120	0.59×
34	Reno, NV	$79,110	101.0	50	0.94×
35	Cleveland, OH	$78,850	93.9	110	0.59×
36	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$78,820	95.4	150	0.75×
37	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$78,800	93.1	30	0.24×
38	Mankato, MN	$78,610	91.0	40	3.62×
39	Worcester, MA	$78,210	102.5	50	0.77×
40	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$78,070	100.3	60	1.24×

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 stationary engineers and boiler operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

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

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$60,020
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers$96,710
Power Plant Operators$102,040
Gas Plant Operators$87,820
Chemical Plant and System Operators$78,120
Plant and System Operators, All Other$62,470
Power Distributors and Dispatchers$106,730
Nuclear Power Reactor Operators$122,890

Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators salary

What the range looks like

Getting in

Where stationary engineers and boiler operators earn the most

Best paying metro areas for stationary engineers and boiler operators

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