Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 53-7071

Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators

O*NET task statements lead this Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers, First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors, Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers, Crane and Tower Operators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors ($63K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) , Crane and Tower Operators ($68K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-7071 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Monitor meters and pressure gauges to determine consumption rate variations, temperatures, and pressures
  2. 2. Respond to problems by adjusting control room equipment or instructing other personnel to adjust equipment at problem locations or in oth…
  3. 3. Record instrument readings and operational changes in operating logs
  4. 4. Adjust valves and equipment to obtain specified performance
  5. 5. Move controls and turn valves to start compressor engines, pumps, and auxiliary equipment
  6. 6. Operate power-driven pumps that transfer liquids, semi-liquids, gases, or powdered materials
  7. 7. Submit daily reports on facility operations
  8. 8. Take samples of gases and conduct chemical tests to determine gas quality and sulfur or moisture content, or send samples to laboratories…
  9. 9. Read gas meters, and maintain records of the amounts of gas received and dispensed from holders
  10. 10. Turn knobs or switches to regulate pressures
  11. 11. Clean, lubricate, and adjust equipment, and replace filters and gaskets, using hand tools
  12. 12. Maintain each station by performing general housekeeping duties such as painting, washing, and cleaning

Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators: O*NET ranks Operations Monitoring first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-7071 - lead skill Operations Monitoring at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Production and Processing. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operations Monitoring 4.0
  2. 2. Operation and Control 3.9
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.6
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.1
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.1
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.1
  7. 7. Equipment Maintenance 3.1
  8. 8. Troubleshooting 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Production and Processing 4.6
  2. 2. Mechanical 4.3
  3. 3. Public Safety and Security 3.9
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.8
  5. 5. Chemistry 3.7
  6. 6. English Language 3.6
National median after O*NET task lead
$77,320
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Monitor meters and pressure gauges to determine consumption rate variations, temperatures, and pressures
$77K
National median
↓ -1%
Growth 2024-2034
600
Annual openings
3,510
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators

1. Texas $82,120
2. Montana $83,750
3. Colorado $76,200
4. Alaska $106,440
5. Michigan $78,240
6. Ohio $85,930
7. Louisiana $79,970
8. Indiana $100,280
9. Oklahoma $82,150
10. Kansas $107,730

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  2. 2. Crane and Tower Operators $68,080
  3. 3. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  4. 4. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters $78,000
  5. 5. First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors $62,890
  6. 6. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels $92,460

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators (SOC 53-7071). The national OEWS median is $77,320 inside Transportation and Material Moving Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers, First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors, Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers, Crane and Tower Operators. Lead published task: Monitor meters and pressure gauges to determine consumption rate variations, temperatures, and pressures.

Employment Projections expect -1% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Texas at $82,120. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $232,140. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators pay-rank #10 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Among 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with a published OEWS median, Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators is pay-rank #10, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 53-7071 · national median $77,320 · upper third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#10/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-7071

Texas · top state for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators

$82K published median

Montana · #2 state pay

$84K · behind Texas

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators · $232K

First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

Lower-pay peer beside Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators · $63K

Compare Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles sit near Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators at the top of the pay table? ▼
Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators is pay-rank #10 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters ($78K), Locomotive Engineers ($81K), Wellhead Pumpers ($70K), Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do gas compressor and gas pumping station operators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators. Leading ones include: Monitor meters and pressure gauges to determine consumption rate variations, temperatures, and pressures; Respond to problems by adjusting control room equipment or instructing other personnel to adjust equipment at problem locations or in oth…; Record instrument readings and operational changes in operating logs; Adjust valves and equipment to obtain specified performance. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for gas compressor and gas pumping station operators? ▼
For SOC 53-7071, O*NET importance scores lead with Operations Monitoring (4.0), Operation and Control (3.9), Critical Thinking (3.6), Reading Comprehension (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Production and Processing, Mechanical, Public Safety and Security. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $77,320 as the national median for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators. The published 10th-90th range is $46,180 to $99,510. Beside Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232,140), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators is -1%. Projected annual openings: about 600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators? ▼
Texas ($82,120), Montana ($83,750), Colorado ($76,200) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-7071. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics