Locomotive Engineer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of locomotive engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $60,680
- Hourly
- $29.17
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of locomotive engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $75,190
- Hourly
- $36.15
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of locomotive engineers earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $81,410
- Hourly
- $39.14
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of locomotive engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $93,260
- Hourly
- $44.84
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of locomotive engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $109,220
- Hourly
- $52.51
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Locomotive Engineers drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight. The median pay is $81,410 a year ($39.14 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).
- Median pay
- $81,410
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 33,470
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 1-2 of 5
- very little to some preparation
Locomotive Engineers at a glance
Locomotive engineers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $81,410 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for locomotive engineers in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of locomotive engineers in the United States to grow 0.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,000 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 33,470 people were employed as locomotive engineers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Locomotive Engineers
What locomotive engineers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Receive starting signals from conductors and use controls such as throttles or air brakes to drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas turbine-electric locomotives.
- Monitor gauges or meters that measure speed, amperage, battery charge, or air pressure in brake lines or in main reservoirs.
- Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives.
- Observe tracks to detect obstructions.
- Confer with conductors or traffic control center personnel via radiophones to issue or receive information concerning stops, delays, or oncoming trains.
- Inspect locomotives to verify adequate fuel, sand, water, or other supplies before each run or to check for mechanical problems.
- Operate locomotives to transport freight or passengers between stations or to assemble or disassemble trains within rail yards.
- Respond to emergency conditions or breakdowns, following applicable safety procedures and rules.
Industries that employ it
Data Share of all locomotive engineer jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).
- Rail transportation93.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +0.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $86,990
- Support activities for transportation2.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $60,620
- Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals2.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $76,040
- Scenic and sightseeing transportation0.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $55,700
- Primary metal manufacturing0.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $60,360
Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Transportation, Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, Mathematics.
Software locomotive engineers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Electronic train management systems ETMSExpert system software
- Route mapping softwareRoute navigation software
- Time tracking softwareTime accounting software
- Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
- Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
Also called: Engineer, Passenger Locomotive Engineer, Railroad Engineer, Steam Locomotive Engineer, Steam Locomotive Fireman, Through Freight Engineer.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.