SOC 53-0000

Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

50 occupations sorted by median salary

The Transportation and Material Moving Occupations major group (SOC 53-0000) contains 50 distinct occupations in the BLS Standard Occupational Classification system, each measured individually by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey in May 2025. Combined U.S. OEWS employment across this group is approximately 13,677,170 estimated jobs in covered establishments for occupations where employment is separately reported. The equal-weighted mean of the published occupation medians inside this group is $61,913. It is a derived comparison benchmark, not the group’s worker-level mean or median and not a career-stage estimate.

The published medians span from $232,140 for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers to $35,150 for Parking Attendants, a 6.6× endpoint ratio. The ranking establishes those occupation-level values but does not identify the effects of credentials, seniority, responsibility, or industry.

Use this page as a launch pad: each row links to the occupation's national profile, with percentile boundaries, local-area rows, projections, and education assignments where the relevant source publishes them. OEWS wages include straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. Employer benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, and nonproduction bonuses sit outside the estimate; their value varies too much to apply one site-wide uplift. For career planning, pair these medians with the 10th-to-90th percentile spread on each occupation's page so you understand the observed wage distribution before committing to an educational or certification pathway. Those percentile boundaries are not an individual's guaranteed floor or ceiling.

# Occupation Median Salary
1 Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers 53-2011 $232,140
2 Air Traffic Controllers 53-2021 $148,080
3 Commercial Pilots 53-2012 $123,220
4 Ship Engineers 53-5031 $109,530
5 Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels 53-5021 $92,460
6 Transportation Inspectors 53-6051 $92,100
7 Subway and Streetcar Operators 53-4041 $86,380
8 Locomotive Engineers 53-4011 $81,410
9 Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters 53-4031 $78,000
10 Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators 53-7071 $77,320
11 Wellhead Pumpers 53-7073 $69,960
12 Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers 53-4022 $68,840
13 Crane and Tower Operators 53-7021 $68,080
14 Flight Attendants 53-2031 $63,580
15 First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors 53-1047 $62,890
16 Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers 53-7072 $61,770
17 Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers 53-4013 $60,600
18 Traffic Technicians 53-6041 $59,090
19 Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity 53-3052 $59,050
20 Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders 53-7121 $58,870
21 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 53-3032 $58,640
22 Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors 53-1041 $58,170
23 Bridge and Lock Tenders 53-6011 $57,700
24 Airfield Operations Specialists 53-2022 $56,850
25 Hoist and Winch Operators 53-7041 $56,450
26 Rail Transportation Workers, All Other 53-4099 $56,360
27 Sailors and Marine Oilers 53-5011 $51,520
28 Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors 53-7081 $49,690
29 Dredge Operators 53-7031 $49,640
30 Bus Drivers, School 53-3051 $47,920
31 Motorboat Operators 53-5022 $47,520
32 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators 53-7051 $46,420
33 Transportation Workers, All Other 53-6099 $45,650
34 Light Truck Drivers 53-3033 $44,860
35 Conveyor Operators and Tenders 53-7011 $42,420
36 Taxi Drivers 53-3054 $42,100
37 Material Moving Workers, All Other 53-7199 $41,800
38 Machine Feeders and Offbearers 53-7063 $41,220
39 Aircraft Service Attendants 53-6032 $40,450
40 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 53-7062 $40,240
41 Driver/Sales Workers 53-3031 $38,770
42 Passenger Attendants 53-6061 $37,720
43 Stockers and Order Fillers 53-7065 $37,330
44 Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs 53-3053 $37,290
45 Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other 53-3099 $37,180
46 Packers and Packagers, Hand 53-7064 $36,280
47 Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment 53-7061 $35,830
48 Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants 53-6031 $35,670
49 Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians 53-3011 $35,450
50 Parking Attendants 53-6021 $35,150

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Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Top-paying in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Air Traffic Controllers

Second-highest in group

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Last updated: May 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

SOC classification from BLS Standard Occupational Classification system, 2018 edition.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. These figures are computed directly from BLS OEWS occupational wage data for this SOC major group. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.

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