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Transportation

Railroad Conductors

SOC 53-4031

Coordinate train crews and manage the movement of a train.

The job
Median pay
$78k
$66k to $84k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Stable
+0.9% projected
Openings a year
3k
BLS projection
Typical education
High school
Our model
AI displacement risk
High
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
7/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
59th pct
More exposed than 59% of occupations · modeled estimate · 54th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
43/100

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Weigh it against Locomotive EngineersPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostOklahoma leads at $102k; every state is below Find careers like itOpen the map at Railroad Conductors and explore its neighbours See open jobsRailroad Conductors roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Railroad Conductors, who lean most on speaking Real pay & reviewsWhat Railroad Conductors say they actually earn

Key skills

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

StateJobsPer 1,000vs nationalMedian pay
New York6,9800.72.4×$80k
Texas4,6400.31.1×$69k
Illinois2,7900.51.5×$80k
Pennsylvania2,7500.51.5×$84k
Georgia1,7400.41.2×$76k
Indiana1,7200.51.8×$81k
New Jersey1,5420.41.2×$79k~
North Carolina1,5280.31.0×$59k~
California1,5000.10.3×$70k
Ohio1,4800.30.9×$61k
All 51 states
StateJobsPer 1,000vs nationalMedian pay
Kansas1,2000.82.8×$69k
Missouri9700.31.1×$68k
Virginia9000.20.7×$80k
Minnesota8300.30.9×$79k
Washington8100.20.8×$79k
Massachusetts7940.20.7×$81k~
Tennessee7900.20.8×$72k
Florida7600.10.3×$80k
Michigan7600.20.6×$79k
Alabama7060.31.1×$67k~
Wisconsin6300.20.7×$60k
Nevada5060.31.1×$74k~
Iowa4980.31.1×$81k~
Colorado4900.20.6×$78k
Arizona4600.10.5×$78k
Utah4590.30.9×$80k~
Mississippi4400.41.3×$78k
Connecticut4390.30.9×$78k~
South Carolina4200.20.6×$74k
New Mexico4000.51.5×$78k
Arkansas3900.31.0×$68k
Louisiana3900.20.7×$62k
Oregon3900.20.7×$69k
West Virginia3200.51.5×$55k
Nebraska3110.31.0×$78k~
Oklahoma3100.20.6×$102k
Maryland3000.10.4×$83k
Idaho2700.31.1×$78k~
New Hampshire1740.30.8×$77k~
Hawaii1710.30.9×$84k~
Maine1660.30.9×$79k~
North Dakota1460.31.1×$87k~
Delaware1450.31.0×$80k~
Montana1330.30.9×$81k~
Kentucky1100.10.2×$52k
Rhode Island1070.20.7×$79k~
Alaska1040.31.1×$88k~
South Dakota900.20.7×$63k
Wyoming870.31.0×$68k~
Vermont710.20.8×$80k~
Washington DC630.10.3×$87k~

Top metro areas

  1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ3,800 jobs · $80k median
  2. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX190 jobs · $46k median
  3. Savannah, GA90 jobs · $38k median
  4. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN80 jobs · $96k median
  5. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX70 jobs · $46k median
  6. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO70 jobs · $60k median
  7. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA50 jobs · $92k median

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Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.