Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 53-6099

Transportation Workers, All Other

The published band from $33,080 to $79,540 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Air Traffic Controllers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Transportation Workers, All Other: Air Traffic Controllers ($148K) , Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers ($62K) , Locomotive Engineers ($81K) , Transportation Inspectors ($92K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

Highest-pay states for Transportation Workers, All Other

State names lead when O*NET tasks are absent for this SOC, geography mass differs by occupation even when peer titles overlap.

  1. 1. Texas $52,640
  2. 2. New Jersey $69,220
  3. 3. Massachusetts $55,200
  4. 4. Ohio $57,010
  5. 5. District of Columbia $51,730
  6. 6. Utah $65,270
  7. 7. Arkansas $51,720
  8. 8. Hawaii $59,500
  9. 9. Oklahoma $65,580
  10. 10. Washington $58,300

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations careers next to Transportation Workers, All Other

Same BLS major group, ordered by national median.

  1. 1. Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers $61,770
  2. 2. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  3. 3. Transportation Inspectors $92,100
  4. 4. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels $92,460
  5. 5. Crane and Tower Operators $68,080
  6. 6. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  7. 7. Wellhead Pumpers $69,960
  8. 8. Ship Engineers $109,530
  9. 9. Subway and Streetcar Operators $86,380
  10. 10. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters $78,000
  11. 11. Commercial Pilots $123,220
  12. 12. Air Traffic Controllers $148,080
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$33,080 to $79,540
median $45,650 · ~2.4× spread
$46K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
1,200
Annual openings
13,550
Estimated US jobs
Air Traffic Controllers
Highest-pay peer · $148K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

The OEWS band for Transportation Workers, All Other runs from $33,080 (10th) to $79,540 (90th), about 2.4× wide, with median $45,650. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,200 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 $52,640. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Air Traffic Controllers at $148,080. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Transportation Workers, All Other pay-rank #33 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Transportation Workers, All Other sits at pay-rank #33 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table 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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Transportation Workers, All Other is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Transportation Workers, All Other salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-6099

Texas · top state for Transportation Workers, All Other

$53K published median

New Jersey · #2 state pay

$69K · behind Texas

Air Traffic Controllers

Highest-pay peer vs Transportation Workers, All Other · $148K

Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers

Lower-pay peer beside Transportation Workers, All Other · $62K

Compare Transportation Workers, All Other

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Transportation Workers, All Other with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Transportation Workers, All Other mid-table among Transportation and Material Moving Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #33 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators ($46K), Light Truck Drivers ($45K), Motorboat Operators ($48K), Bus Drivers, School ($48K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
How wide is the published pay band for Transportation Workers, All Other? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $33,080 and the 90th at $79,540 for Transportation Workers, All Other (2.4× spread). The national median is $45,650. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Transportation Workers, All Other? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Transportation Workers, All Other is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 1,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Transportation Workers, All Other? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Transportation Workers, All Other. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Transportation Workers, All Other? ▼
Texas ($52,640), New Jersey ($69,220), Massachusetts ($55,200) 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 Transportation Workers, All Other card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-6099. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Transportation Workers, All Other. 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