Locomotive Engineers Salary: $73,402 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 31,990 locomotive engineers nationally earn a mean of $73,402. Projections imply about 4.3% annual decline; much hiring sits in transportation and warehousing.
Key Statistics
Locomotive Engineers: what the data shows
Common questions about locomotive engineers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a locomotive engineers?
Locomotive Engineers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 53-4011.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 31,990 workers.
What does a locomotive engineers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Controlling Machines and Processes, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment, Getting Information, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a locomotive engineers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $77,400 (May 2024 in our extract).
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $52,240 |
| 25th percentile | $74,324 |
| Median (50th) | $76,526 |
| 75th percentile | $79,896 |
| 90th percentile | $79,896 |
What education do you need?
For Locomotive Engineers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and knowledge areas including Transportation, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Education and Training. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is locomotive engineers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 4.3% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -19.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -35.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 31,990.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do locomotive engineerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 31,990 | 20.0% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 31,500 | 19.7% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 31,320 | 19.6% |
| Rail Transportation | 30,460 | 19.0% |
| Rail Transportation | 30,460 | 19.0% |
| Support Activities for Transportation | 760 | 0.5% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Locomotive Engineers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Locomotive Engineers workforce.
Employment Over Time
31,990 Workforce in 2023
The Locomotive Engineers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Locomotive Engineers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$73,402 Average Wage
In 2023, Locomotive Engineers earned an average of $73,402.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Locomotive Engineers.
Salary distribution for Locomotive Engineers.
Employment Growth Projections
-4.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
2,783 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -19.5%
2,239 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -35.3%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Locomotive Engineers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Locomotive Engineers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Locomotive Engineers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Locomotive Engineers.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.9% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: -15.8% growth (Current: $73,402)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Locomotive Engineers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Locomotive Engineers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 4,040 employees, $74,360 avg wage
- IL: 2,130 employees, $96,440 avg wage
- CA: 1,670 employees, $71,660 avg wage
- IA: 1,520 employees, $82,020 avg wage
- PA: 1,460 employees, $79,330 avg wage
- NY: 1,290 employees, $96,020 avg wage
- KS: 990 employees, $73,010 avg wage
- MT: 970 employees, $81,150 avg wage
- GA: 870 employees, $77,960 avg wage
- IN: 860 employees, $75,700 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Locomotive Engineers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 240 employees, $59,730 avg wage
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: 150 employees, $80,890 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 40 employees, $64,950 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Locomotive Engineers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Locomotive Engineers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Locomotive Engineers in 2023 was 31,990 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Locomotive Engineers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Locomotive Engineers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Locomotive Engineers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Locomotive Engineers in 2023 were Business Administration, Engineering, Mathematics.
Common majors for Locomotive Engineers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Locomotive Engineers workers.
Education level distribution for Locomotive Engineers.
Skills
Locomotive Engineers need many skills, but most especially Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Locomotive Engineers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Locomotive Engineers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Locomotive Engineers include Transportation, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service.
Knowledge areas required for Locomotive Engineers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Locomotive Engineers include Far Vision, Selective Attention, Control Precision, Response Orientation, Near Vision.
Required abilities for Locomotive Engineers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Locomotive Engineers.
Daily Activities
Locomotive Engineers spend their time on activities such as Controlling Machines and Processes, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment, Getting Information.
Most important work activities for Locomotive Engineers.
About
Locomotive Engineers
The average yearly wage for Locomotive Engineers was $73,402 in 2023.
SOC Code
53-4011 - Locomotive Engineers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Locomotive Engineers reports an average salary of $73,402.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 31,990 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -4.3%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.