Wellhead Pumpers salary

SOC 53-7073 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$69,960

per year, nationally

Middle half

$52,330–$82,200

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

17,990

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-4.7%

2,000 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.

$44,100$98,170

10th: $44,100
25th: $52,330
Median: $69,960
75th: $82,200
90th: $98,170

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: Less than 5 years
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 wellhead pumpers 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	North Dakota	$79,820	89.0	1,540	30.98×
2	New Mexico	$78,010	92.2	1,060	10.49×
3	Louisiana	$76,930	88.2	110	0.48×
4	Texas	$75,860	97.1	10,250	6.30×
5	Colorado	$72,700	103.1	370	1.11×
6	Arkansas	$64,650	86.9	90	0.61×
7	California	$64,430	110.7	160	0.08×
8	Mississippi	$62,560	87.0	80	0.57×
9	Kansas	$62,400	90.1	620	3.70×
10	Oklahoma	$61,380	87.8	770	3.90×
11	Utah	$59,970	98.9	130	0.63×
12	Montana	$57,830	94.6	90	1.53×
13	Wyoming	$57,200	92.7	490	15.03×
14	West Virginia	$52,170	89.5	660	8.17×
15	Illinois	$51,440	100.0	240	0.34×
16	New York	$48,980	107.9	50	0.04×
17	Michigan	$47,630	96.2	210	0.41×
18	Ohio	$46,750	92.8	250	0.39×
19	Pennsylvania	$45,490	97.6	640	0.91×

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 wellhead pumpers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for wellhead pumpers

The 24 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	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$79,720	98.6	3,860	10.15×
2	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$78,010	103.1	830	1.77×
3	Minot, ND	$77,310	87.0	130	33.26×
4	Amarillo, TX	$77,150	91.8	60	3.93×
5	Lubbock, TX	$76,850	91.3	200	10.50×
6	Odessa, TX	$75,450	93.9	330	35.79×
7	Midland, TX	$72,110	95.8	1,660	117.60×
8	Casper, WY	$71,540	93.8	60	12.25×
9	Tyler, TX	$70,590	92.2	90	6.38×
10	Oklahoma City, OK	$64,960	90.4	230	2.89×
11	Longview, TX	$64,920	89.5	150	10.78×
12	Tulsa, OK	$64,500	89.2	220	4.22×
13	Canton-Massillon, OH	$64,010	89.4	50	2.55×
14	Wichita Falls, TX	$63,530	89.5	—	—
15	Farmington, NM	$63,230	87.7	80	14.65×
16	Greeley, CO	$61,510	100.2	140	10.13×
17	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$61,340	100.9	60	1.61×
18	San Angelo, TX	$60,900	92.5	150	25.36×
19	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$60,510	94.7	170	1.27×
20	Akron, OH	$56,190	93.4	40	1.04×
21	Charleston, WV	$53,390	88.7	60	4.93×
22	Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	$50,770	90.0	60	3.06×
23	Wichita, KS	$49,720	88.9	40	1.10×
24	Pittsburgh, PA	$39,060	94.7	350	2.75×

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 wellhead pumpers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

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

Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$40,240
Stockers and Order Fillers$37,330
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$46,420
Packers and Packagers, Hand$36,280
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$35,830
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$49,690
Crane and Tower Operators$68,080
Machine Feeders and Offbearers$41,220