Pay · 53-4013
Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers earn $60,600 a year at the midpoint
A small field — roughly 3,920 people nationwide — with a midpoint of $60,600. Pay runs from about $44,540 at the low end to $100,270 at the top, per the 2025 federal survey.
National figures for rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers, 53-4013, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Rail yard engineer earnings, from starting pay to the highest 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
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An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
No. 393 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 50% of the occupations in the survey.
- 391 Clergy $60,810
- 392 Paramedics $60,600
- 393 Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers $60,600
- 394 Carpenters $60,580
- 395 Postal Service Mail Carriers $60,550
Examples
Resumes written for this line of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
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Rail yard engineer wages, state by state
The 16 states where the most people do this work, of 17 with a published figure: their medians range by 2.34 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | $91,380 | $62,990 | $62,990 — $91,380 | 40 |
| Florida | $80,360 | $56,900 | $56,900 — $80,580 | 120 |
| New Jersey | $71,030 | $51,350 | $51,350 — $102,220 | 130 |
| California | $67,160 | $66,990 | $66,990 — $67,160 | 190 |
| Pennsylvania | $65,380 | $36,390 | $36,390 — $65,850 | 40 |
| Oklahoma | $63,400 | $38,570 | $38,570 — $80,440 | 70 |
| Kentucky | $62,070 | $48,770 | $48,770 — $102,430 | 110 |
| Colorado | $60,770 | $54,810 | $54,810 — $81,670 | — |
| Ohio | $59,460 | $50,480 | $50,480 — $68,480 | — |
| Utah | $58,380 | $43,160 | $43,160 — $61,230 | — |
| Indiana | $54,420 | $38,370 | $38,370 — $105,530 | 190 |
| Tennessee | $54,060 | $44,330 | $44,330 — $79,690 | 60 |
| Texas | $53,130 | $44,540 | $44,540 — $101,310 | 50 |
| Nevada | $48,970 | $40,650 | $40,650 — $58,640 | 40 |
| Alabama | $48,900 | $31,270 | $31,270 — $75,220 | 80 |
| Arkansas | $38,980 | $37,550 | $37,550 — $72,340 | 70 |
Rail yard engineer pay rate, hourly to yearly
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Resumes for rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Observed and responded to wayside and cab signals, including color light signals, position signals, torpedoes, flags, and hot box detectors.
- Inspected engines before and after use to ensure proper operation.
- Applied and released hand brakes.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Questions people often ask
What is a rail yard engineer’s yearly income?
A rail yard engineer makes a median of $60,600 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $52,780 and $80,360.
What is a rail yard engineer’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $29.14 an hour; the average is $68,450 a year.
What is the starting pay for a rail yard engineer?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $52,780 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $44,540.
Which state pays rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers the most?
West Virginia, with a median of $91,380 a year.
How many people work as rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers?
About 3,920 in the United States — number 393 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Jobs that pay about the same
Median pay within $50 of what rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers earn — $60,600 a year — but not always the same spread.
- Same median Paramedics $60,600median a year 10th percentile: $44,230 90th percentile: $84,850
- $20 less Carpenters $60,580median a year 10th percentile: $40,410 90th percentile: $99,910
- $50 less Postal Service Mail Carriers $60,550median a year 10th percentile: $42,390 90th percentile: $81,040