Locomotive engineers & operators

Detailed Occupation

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2024 Workforce

42.8k

Average Age

46.5

Average Salary

$97,837

Average Male Salary

$99,583

Average Female Salary

$67,233

About

Locomotive engineers & operators are most often employed by the Rail transportation industry. The average yearly wage for Locomotive engineers & operators was $97,837 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Locomotive engineers & operators are Southeast Idaho--Pocatello, Chubbuck Cities & Fort Hall Reservation PUMA, ID, Navajo & Apache Counties PUMA, AZ, and Southwest Nebraska PUMA, NE. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Locomotive engineers & operators are Southeast Idaho--Pocatello, Chubbuck Cities & Fort Hall Reservation PUMA, ID, Navajo & Apache Counties PUMA, AZ, and Southwest Nebraska PUMA, NE.

Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations Transportation & Material Moving Occupations Transportation Occupations

Employment and salary information for the Locomotive engineers & operators workforce. Locomotive engineers & operators workforce in 2024 was 42,802 people, of which 5.4% were women and 94.6% were men. Locomotive engineers & operators are paid most in Faulkner & Lonoke Counties PUMA, AR but are relatively concentrated in Southeast Idaho--Pocatello, Chubbuck Cities & Fort Hall Reservation PUMA, ID.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

40,492

Male Workforce

± 4.94k

2,310

Female Workforce

± 1.18k

The Locomotive engineers & operators workforce in 2024 was 42,802 people (5.4% women and 94.6% men). This implies an average annual growth of −10.5% between 2014 (47,811) and 2024 (42,802).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Locomotive engineers & operators.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Connecticut ($127,510), Maryland ($127,093), and Mississippi ($126,517).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$97,837

AVERAGE WAGE

#82 in the ranking (2014)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Locomotive engineers & operators earned an average of $97,837, $27,960 more than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Locomotive engineers & operators in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2014.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.246

WAGE GINI

In 2024, Locomotive engineers & operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.246, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Locomotive engineers & operators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Locomotive engineers & operators compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Locomotive engineers & operators and on wages for those in the field. Rail transportation is the industry that employs the most Locomotive engineers & operators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Locomotive engineers & operators, by average wage, is Rail transportation ($101,743).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

42.8k

2024 Workforce

± 5,079

−2.14%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 17.1%

This graphic shows the share of Locomotive engineers & operators employed by various industries. Rail transportation employs the largest share of Locomotive engineers & operators at 95.1%, followed by Bus service & urban transit with 2.52% and Services incidental to transportation with 1.6%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Locomotive engineers & operators in the US. The workforce of Locomotive engineers & operators in 2024 was 42,802 people, with 5.4% woman, and 94.6% men. The average age of male Locomotive engineers & operators in the workforce is 46.7 and of female Locomotive engineers & operators is 42.1, and the most common race/ethnicity for Locomotive engineers & operators is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Locomotive engineers & operators in 2024 was 42,802 people, with 5.4% woman, and 94.6% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 45 to 49 years (7,251 people), 50 to 54 years (6,752 people), and 40 to 44 years (6,118 people). Among them they concentrated 47.5% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 11.3% of Locomotive engineers & operators workers were Hispanic and 88.7% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (64.3%), Puerto Rican (14.8)%, and Spaniard (7)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2024, 71.6% of the Locomotive engineers & operators workforce were White, of which 2.93% were women and 97.1% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (15.1%) and Two or More Races (7.59%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Locomotive engineers & operators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Locomotive engineers & operators is Business but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Mechanical Technologies.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Locomotive engineers & operators in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (1,647 people), Engineering (1,061 people), and Social Sciences (375 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Locomotive engineers & operators workers were High School or Equivalent (17,597 people), Some college (14,412 people), and Bachelors Degree (4,703 people).

The graphic shows the Locomotive engineers & operators workforce by gender and educational level.