Traffic Technicians salary

SOC 53-6041 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$59,090

per year, nationally

Middle half

$46,440–$75,850

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

7,860

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+3.7%

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.

$39,090$85,130

10th: $39,090
25th: $46,440
Median: $59,090
75th: $75,850
90th: $85,130

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 traffic technicians 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	California	$79,110	110.7	1,250	1.36×
2	Minnesota	$77,810	98.6	60	0.40×
3	Washington	$71,960	107.0	70	0.39×
4	New York	$71,670	107.9	950	1.94×
5	Indiana	$71,000	93.3	120	0.72×
6	Illinois	$70,970	100.0	40	0.12×
7	Iowa	$68,100	87.8	30	0.39×
8	Pennsylvania	$65,610	97.6	60	0.20×
9	New Jersey	$64,240	108.8	110	0.51×
10	Massachusetts	$63,780	105.8	90	0.50×
11	Virginia	$62,270	101.1	90	0.45×
12	Utah	$61,970	98.9	30	0.36×
13	Ohio	$61,460	92.8	210	0.74×
14	Nebraska	$61,380	90.1	40	0.86×
15	Oklahoma	$60,750	87.8	90	1.03×
16	Maryland	$60,650	105.0	140	1.04×
17	Arizona	$59,980	100.7	310	1.88×
18	Wisconsin	$58,940	94.1	40	0.29×
19	Idaho	$57,180	95.5	70	1.71×
20	South Carolina	$57,080	93.7	150	1.31×
21	North Carolina	$56,800	94.3	110	0.43×
22	Missouri	$56,720	90.8	220	1.46×
23	West Virginia	$53,400	89.5	70	1.89×
24	Nevada	$53,100	100.0	190	2.44×
25	Alabama	$52,060	88.8	130	1.25×
26	Florida	$51,220	103.4	710	1.42×
27	Connecticut	$50,400	103.6	—	—
28	Wyoming	$50,120	92.7	30	2.47×
29	Arkansas	$49,550	86.9	50	0.74×
30	New Mexico	$49,280	92.2	80	1.82×
31	Texas	$48,770	97.1	650	0.92×
32	Georgia	$48,110	96.3	220	0.89×
33	Kansas	$47,100	90.1	160	2.25×
34	Tennessee	$44,970	91.9	460	2.76×
35	Louisiana	$42,710	88.2	130	1.37×
36	Michigan	$37,890	96.2	100	0.45×

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 traffic technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for traffic technicians

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	$92,710	115.6	190	1.55×
2	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$85,100	111.9	230	3.02×
3	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$84,650	108.8	70	6.68×
4	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$81,910	112.6	750	1.56×
5	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$78,640	113.6	400	1.25×
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$78,180	104.8	30	0.33×
7	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$77,540	100.9	—	—
8	Columbus, OH	$75,420	95.5	—	—
9	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$70,100	108.9	300	1.91×
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$67,450	108.3	50	0.39×
11	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$67,010	99.6	130	5.61×
12	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$66,040	102.6	30	0.22×
13	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$65,190	103.3	170	1.40×
14	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$63,230	106.4	90	1.06×
15	Boise City, ID	$62,710	98.4	40	1.93×
16	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$62,300	100.9	210	2.92×
17	Toledo, OH	$60,780	91.5	40	2.39×
18	Oklahoma City, OK	$60,750	90.4	40	1.21×
19	Birmingham, AL	$60,730	91.6	30	1.26×
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$58,820	104.5	100	1.51×
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$57,130	103.1	170	0.85×
22	Columbia, SC	$57,080	93.7	30	1.70×
23	St. Louis, MO-IL	$56,720	95.1	50	0.75×
24	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$56,470	100.2	150	2.63×
25	Springfield, MO	$55,500	88.6	50	4.02×
26	Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC	$53,500	93.3	40	1.65×
27	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$53,090	98.6	100	0.62×
28	Kansas City, MO-KS	$52,520	92.5	100	1.81×
29	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$52,430	101.4	60	0.81×
30	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$51,510	98.1	100	1.46×
31	New Haven, CT	$51,120	104.6	—	—
32	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$51,000	114.2	120	0.84×
33	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$50,300	100.1	140	0.99×
34	Albuquerque, NM	$48,120	95.5	40	1.91×
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$47,670	96.3	—	—
36	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$45,620	94.7	60	1.01×
37	Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL	$45,580	97.1	40	2.69×
38	Wichita, KS	$45,210	88.9	40	2.47×
39	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$44,780	92.2	90	3.03×
40	Chattanooga, TN-GA	$44,690	91.5	110	8.06×

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 traffic technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

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

Parking Attendants$35,150
Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$35,670
Aircraft Service Attendants$40,450
Passenger Attendants$37,720
Transportation Inspectors$92,100
Transportation Workers, All Other$45,650
Bridge and Lock Tenders$57,700