Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salaries by State

Q: How much do rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators make in the U.S.?

The median rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators salary in the United States is $70,070 per year (mean $68,740), and about 80% earn between $45,640 and $87,420.

Q: How much do rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators make per hour?

Roughly $33 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $68,740 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators the most?

Maryland has the highest average pay for rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators at $90,980 per year (median $92,030).

Q: What is the job outlook for rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators?

Employment is projected to change +1.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 1,100 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operatorss across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $68,740 ≈ $33/hr

National median salary $70,070

Total employment 19,580 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +1.6% Slower than average

Annual openings 1,100 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 15,000 → 15,300 (+200)

Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AKME WI VTNH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CTRI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $0–$57,000 $57,000–$63,000 $63,000–$68,000 $68,000–$73,000 $73,000–$91,000 U.S. mean $68,740

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Maryland$90,980
Massachusetts$84,610
New York$79,670
Illinois$79,340
Virginia$79,300

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Louisiana$46,010
Ohio$52,280
North Carolina$53,250
Iowa$53,890
Wisconsin$55,300

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Maryland	$90,980	$92,030	$44	+32.4%	320
2	Massachusetts	$84,610	$94,330	$41	+23.1%	570
3	New York	$79,670	$87,150	$38	+15.9%	3,590
4	Illinois	$79,340	$78,910	$38	+15.4%	1,190
5	Virginia	$79,300	$84,750	$38	+15.4%	360
6	Indiana	$75,110	$78,020	$36	+9.3%	320
7	Montana	$75,000	$79,170	$36	+9.1%	200
8	New Jersey	$74,750	$66,540	$36	+8.7%	230
9	Delaware	$72,540	$80,610	$35	+5.5%	130
10	New Mexico	$72,100	$83,370	$35	+4.9%	80
11	Arizona	$71,340	$76,620	$34	+3.8%	170
12	Idaho	$71,080	$79,020	$34	+3.4%	90
13	Michigan	$70,140	$75,450	$34	+2%	290
14	Wyoming	$69,240	$71,580	$33	+0.7%	220
15	Tennessee	$69,020	$66,390	$33	+0.4%	260
16	South Carolina	$67,950	$71,770	$33	-1.1%	30
17	Utah	$67,870	$63,190	$33	-1.3%	60
18	Washington	$67,430	$58,740	$32	-1.9%	500
19	California	$67,340	$71,170	$32	-2%	770
20	Colorado	$66,900	$64,300	$32	-2.7%	300
21	Pennsylvania	$65,580	$59,800	$32	-4.6%	830
22	Kentucky	$64,970	$73,120	$31	-5.5%	270
23	Georgia	$64,890	$63,010	$31	-5.6%	710
24	Oklahoma	$64,310	$61,860	$31	-6.4%	310
25	Kansas	$62,610	$58,590	$30	-8.9%	310
26	South Dakota	$62,120	$64,500	$30	-9.6%	110
27	Missouri	$60,020	$64,390	$29	-12.7%	410
28	Arkansas	$59,740	$60,230	$29	-13.1%	150
29	Minnesota	$59,700	$49,640	$29	-13.2%	760
30	Texas	$58,990	$56,470	$28	-14.2%	940
31	Oregon	$58,610	$50,930	$28	-14.7%	190
32	Nevada	$57,910	$56,740	$28	-15.8%	40
33	West Virginia	$56,810	$56,660	$27	-17.4%	270
34	Florida	$55,930	$61,220	$27	-18.6%	490
35	Wisconsin	$55,300	$47,920	$27	-19.6%	180
36	Iowa	$53,890	$45,640	$26	-21.6%	200
37	North Carolina	$53,250	$47,700	$26	-22.5%	270
38	Ohio	$52,280	$47,980	$25	-23.9%	1,130
39	Louisiana	$46,010	$44,150	$22	-33.1%	—

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 15 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$87,410	$77,450	50
2	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$87,150	$80,270	2,710
3	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$85,240	$79,620	280
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$75,280	$76,850	90
5	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$65,060	$68,710	130
6	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$62,030	$60,840	50
7	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$61,050	$58,020	30
8	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$60,120	$66,750	220
9	Pittsburgh, PA	$59,390	$65,440	160
10	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$59,110	$55,070	40

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operatorss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	$85,240	$79,610	300
2	State Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	$85,240	$79,610	300
3	Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS	$85,210	$78,310	4,060
4	Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS	$85,210	$78,310	4,060
5	Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	$85,210	$78,270	3,750
6	Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	$85,210	$78,270	3,750
7	Sector 99 - Federal, State, and Local Government, excl. State & Local Schools & Hospitals & USPS	$85,210	$78,310	4,060
8	Rail Transportation	$70,950	$68,750	12,360
9	Rail Transportation	$70,950	$68,750	12,360
10	Cross-Industry, Private, Federal, State, and Local	$70,070	$68,740	19,580
11	Sectors 48 and 49 - Transportation and Warehousing	$65,900	$67,030	14,000
12	Coal Mining	$64,160	$65,210	90

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

1,753

$10-20k

454

$20-30k

278

$30-40k

384

$40-50k

809

$50-60k

684

$60-70k

1,731

$70-80k

1,268

$80-90k

567

$90-100k

252

$100-110k

384

$110-120k

514

$140-150k

142

$150-160k

762

Pay by age band

16-24

$55,466

25-34

$74,501

35-44

$74,223

45-54

$70,978

55-64

$55,328

65+

$29,417

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$65,979

Some college, but less than 1 year

$53,117

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$75,387

GED or alternative credential

$43,769

12th grade - no diploma

$53,959

Associates Degree

$52,049

Grade 11

$24,468

Bachelors Degree

$45,303

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

8,046 · $75,280

Part-time

277 · $29,300

Race / ethnicity

White

$46,754

Black

$87,643

Two or More Races

$75,207

Other

$93,576

American Indian

$73,697

Asian

$88,698

Top fields of study

Architecture

$40,781

Business Management And Administration

$50,976

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Operations Monitoring

3.8

Operation and Control

3.8

Equipment Maintenance

3.3

Troubleshooting

3.3

Coordination

3.1

Critical Thinking

3.1

Repairing

3.1

Quality Control Analysis

3.1

Monitoring

3.1

Active Listening

3.0

Judgment and Decision Making

3.0

Time Management

3.0

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators make in the U.S.?

The median rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators salary in the United States is $70,070 per year (mean $68,740), and about 80% earn between $45,640 and $87,420.

How much do rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators make per hour?

Roughly $33 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $68,740 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators the most?

Maryland has the highest average pay for rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators at $90,980 per year (median $92,030).

What is the job outlook for rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators?

Employment is projected to change +1.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 1,100 openings per year.