Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 53-4011

Locomotive Engineers

O*NET task statements lead this Locomotive Engineers card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Commercial Pilots, Flight Attendants, Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels, Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Locomotive Engineers: Commercial Pilots ($123K) , Flight Attendants ($64K) , Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels ($92K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Locomotive Engineers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-4011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives
  2. 2. Confer with conductors or traffic control center personnel via radiophones to issue or receive information concerning stops, delays, or o…
  3. 3. Receive starting signals from conductors and use controls such as throttles or air brakes to drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or g…
  4. 4. Monitor gauges or meters that measure speed, amperage, battery charge, or air pressure in brake lines or in main reservoirs
  5. 5. Observe tracks to detect obstructions
  6. 6. Call out train signals to assistants to verify meanings
  7. 7. Operate locomotives to transport freight or passengers between stations or to assemble or disassemble trains within rail yards
  8. 8. Check to ensure that brake examination tests are conducted at shunting stations
  9. 9. Respond to emergency conditions or breakdowns, following applicable safety procedures and rules
  10. 10. Inspect locomotives to verify adequate fuel, sand, water, or other supplies before each run or to check for mechanical problems
  11. 11. Inspect locomotives after runs to detect damaged or defective equipment
  12. 12. Prepare reports regarding any problems encountered, such as accidents, signaling problems, unscheduled stops, or delays

Locomotive Engineers: O*NET ranks Operation and Control first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-4011 - lead skill Operation and Control at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Transportation. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operation and Control 4.1
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 4.0
  3. 3. Active Listening 3.8
  4. 4. Speaking 3.6
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.6
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.6
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 3.4
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.4

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Transportation 4.5
  2. 2. Public Safety and Security 3.6
  3. 3. English Language 3.3
  4. 4. Education and Training 3.3
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 3.0
  6. 6. Mechanical 3.0
National median after O*NET task lead
$81,410
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives
$81K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
2,200
Annual openings
33,470
Estimated US jobs
Commercial Pilots
Highest-pay peer · $123K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Locomotive Engineers

1. Illinois $93,320
2. Oklahoma $91,970
3. Minnesota $93,700
4. Massachusetts $108,790
5. New York $109,220
6. Virginia $90,780
7. Indiana $92,790
8. Mississippi $96,710
9. Florida $92,310
10. Montana $90,220

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels $92,460
  2. 2. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  3. 3. Transportation Inspectors $92,100
  4. 4. Commercial Pilots $123,220
  5. 5. Subway and Streetcar Operators $86,380
  6. 6. Flight Attendants $63,580

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Locomotive Engineers (SOC 53-4011). The national OEWS median is $81,410 inside Transportation and Material Moving Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Commercial Pilots, Flight Attendants, Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels, Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers. Lead published task: Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (slower than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. 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: Illinois at $93,320. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Commercial Pilots at $123,220. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Locomotive Engineers pay-rank #8 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Among 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with a published OEWS median, Locomotive Engineers is pay-rank #8, 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 53-4011 · national median $81,410 · upper third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#8/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Locomotive Engineers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-4011

Illinois · top state for Locomotive Engineers

$93K published median

Oklahoma · #2 state pay

$92K · behind Illinois

Commercial Pilots

Highest-pay peer vs Locomotive Engineers · $123K

Flight Attendants

Lower-pay peer beside Locomotive Engineers · $64K

Compare Locomotive Engineers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
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Role and task next reads

Locomotive Engineers full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles sit near Locomotive Engineers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Locomotive Engineers is pay-rank #8 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters ($78K), Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators ($77K), Subway and Streetcar Operators ($86K), Transportation Inspectors ($92K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do locomotive engineers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Locomotive Engineers. Leading ones include: Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives; Confer with conductors or traffic control center personnel via radiophones to issue or receive information concerning stops, delays, or o…; Receive starting signals from conductors and use controls such as throttles or air brakes to drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or g…; Monitor gauges or meters that measure speed, amperage, battery charge, or air pressure in brake lines or in main reservoirs. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for locomotive engineers? ▼
For SOC 53-4011, O*NET importance scores lead with Operation and Control (4.1), Operations Monitoring (4.0), Active Listening (3.8), Speaking (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Transportation, Public Safety and Security, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Locomotive Engineers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $81,410 as the national median for Locomotive Engineers. The published 10th-90th range is $60,680 to $109,220. Beside Commercial Pilots ($123,220), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Locomotive Engineers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Locomotive Engineers is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 2,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: slower than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Locomotive Engineers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Locomotive Engineers. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Locomotive Engineers? ▼
Illinois ($93,320), Oklahoma ($91,970), Minnesota ($93,700) 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 Locomotive Engineers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-4011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Locomotive Engineers. 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