Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 49-3043

Rail Car Repairers

O*NET task statements lead this Rail Car Repairers card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Avionics Technicians, Millwrights, Watch and Clock Repairers, Commercial Divers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Rail Car Repairers: Avionics Technicians ($82K) , Millwrights ($66K) , Watch and Clock Repairers ($67K) , Commercial Divers ($73K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Rail Car Repairers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 49-3043 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Record conditions of cars, and repair and maintenance work performed or to be performed
  2. 2. Inspect components such as bearings, seals, gaskets, wheels, and coupler assemblies to determine if repairs are needed
  3. 3. Repair or replace defective or worn parts such as bearings, pistons, and gears, using hand tools, torque wrenches, power tools, and weldi…
  4. 4. Inspect the interior and exterior of rail cars coming into rail yards to identify defects and to determine the extent of wear and damage
  5. 5. Remove locomotives, car mechanical units, or other components, using pneumatic hoists and jacks, pinch bars, hand tools, and cutting torches
  6. 6. Test units for operability before and after repairs
  7. 7. Adjust repaired or replaced units as needed to ensure proper operation
  8. 8. Repair and maintain electrical and electronic controls for propulsion and braking systems
  9. 9. Disassemble units such as water pumps, control valves, and compressors so that repairs can be made
  10. 10. Repair, fabricate, and install steel or wood fittings, using blueprints, shop sketches, and instruction manuals
  11. 11. Measure diameters of axle wheel seats, using micrometers, and mark dimensions on axles so that wheels can be bored to specified dimensions
  12. 12. Perform scheduled maintenance, and clean units and components

Rail Car Repairers: O*NET ranks Troubleshooting first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 49-3043 - lead skill Troubleshooting at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Troubleshooting 4.0
  2. 2. Repairing 4.0
  3. 3. Equipment Maintenance 3.8
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.3
  5. 5. Operations Monitoring 3.3
  6. 6. Quality Control Analysis 3.3
  7. 7. Operation and Control 3.1
  8. 8. Active Listening 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 4.5
  2. 2. Production and Processing 3.4
  3. 3. Design 3.3
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.2
  5. 5. Building and Construction 3.2
  6. 6. Engineering and Technology 3.2
National median after O*NET task lead
$67,530
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Record conditions of cars, and repair and maintenance work performed or to be performed
$68K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
1,500
Annual openings
21,350
Estimated US jobs
Avionics Technicians
Highest-pay peer · $82K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Rail Car Repairers

1. Colorado $86,630
2. Arizona $81,230
3. Oregon $87,470
4. Virginia $83,720
5. Illinois $84,570
6. Massachusetts $108,680
7. Maryland $89,430
8. Utah $83,980
9. New York $84,580
10. Idaho $85,420

Other Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations titles

  1. 1. Avionics Technicians $82,280
  2. 2. Watch and Clock Repairers $67,230
  3. 3. Millwrights $65,700
  4. 4. Commercial Divers $72,990
  5. 5. Precision Instrument and Equipment Repairers, All Other $68,990
  6. 6. First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers $79,860

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Rail Car Repairers (SOC 49-3043). The national OEWS median is $67,530 inside Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Avionics Technicians, Millwrights, Watch and Clock Repairers, Commercial Divers. Lead published task: Record conditions of cars, and repair and maintenance work performed or to be performed.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,500 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: Colorado at $86,630. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Avionics Technicians at $82,280. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Rail Car Repairers pay-rank #13 in Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations

Among 51 detailed Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations with a published OEWS median, Rail Car Repairers is pay-rank #13, 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 49-3043 · national median $67,530 · upper third of Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations (#13/51). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Rail Car Repairers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 49-3043

Colorado · top state for Rail Car Repairers

$87K published median

Arizona · #2 state pay

$81K · behind Colorado

Avionics Technicians

Highest-pay peer vs Rail Car Repairers · $82K

Millwrights

Lower-pay peer beside Rail Car Repairers · $66K

Compare Rail Car Repairers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Rail Car Repairers with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Rail Car Repairers 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 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations titles sit near Rail Car Repairers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Rail Car Repairers is pay-rank #13 of 51 detailed Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Watch and Clock Repairers ($67K), Precision Instrument and Equipment Repairers, All Other ($69K), Millwrights ($66K), Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines ($66K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do rail car repairers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Rail Car Repairers. Leading ones include: Record conditions of cars, and repair and maintenance work performed or to be performed; Inspect components such as bearings, seals, gaskets, wheels, and coupler assemblies to determine if repairs are needed; Repair or replace defective or worn parts such as bearings, pistons, and gears, using hand tools, torque wrenches, power tools, and weldi…; Inspect the interior and exterior of rail cars coming into rail yards to identify defects and to determine the extent of wear and damage. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for rail car repairers? ▼
For SOC 49-3043, O*NET importance scores lead with Troubleshooting (4.0), Repairing (4.0), Equipment Maintenance (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Production and Processing, Design. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Rail Car Repairers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $67,530 as the national median for Rail Car Repairers. The published 10th-90th range is $46,800 to $95,100. Beside Avionics Technicians ($82,280), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Rail Car Repairers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Rail Car Repairers is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 1,500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Rail Car Repairers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Rail Car Repairers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Rail Car Repairers? ▼
Colorado ($86,630), Arizona ($81,230), Oregon ($87,470) 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 Rail Car Repairers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 49-3043. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Rail Car Repairers. 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