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Average Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, And Hostlers Salary in West Virginia

Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, And Hostlers in West Virginia earn a median annual salary of $91,380, which is +50.8% compared to the national median. There are 40 workers employed locally in this occupation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates for West Virginia (state).

$91,380
West Virginia median annual wage
$44/hour median
+50.8%
Difference vs national median
National median is $60,600
40
Local employment
0.1 jobs per 1,000 workers
2.10
Location quotient
Above 1.00 means the occupation is more concentrated here than nationally
Pay distribution

Local wage range

10th
$62,990
25th
$63,510
Median
$91,380
75th
$91,380
90th
$91,380

All values are percentiles of annual wages.

This local range is the useful part of the page. The median tells you the center of the market in West Virginia, while the percentile band shows how compressed or wide the local pay distribution actually is.

Regional price parity

Cost-of-living context

All-items regional price parity
89.5%
Exact state RPP match
Median wage adjusted to the national price level
$102,104
Goods: 96.5%
Services: 92.2%
Rents: 54.2%
Comparison links

Comparable states for this occupation

State Median annual wage Compare Employment
Florida $80,360 Compare 120
New Jersey $71,030 Compare 130
California $67,160 Compare 190
Pennsylvania $65,380 Compare 40
Oklahoma $63,400 Compare 70
Kentucky $62,070 Compare 110

The point of this table is not random nearby places. It is to show the other labor markets where this same occupation looks stronger or weaker on the same OEWS release.

Area context

Top occupations in West Virginia

Occupation Median annual wage LQ
Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $597,740 1.87
Emergency Medicine Physicians $491,230 2.04
Radiologists $471,650 2.95
Surgeons, All Other $468,210 2.11
Physicians, Pathologists $400,070 0.91
Obstetricians And Gynecologists $300,810 1.07
Nurse Anesthetists $278,530 3.18
Family Medicine Physicians $272,680 0.65

West Virginia has salary data for 629 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric.

Historical series

Trend for Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, And Hostlers in West Virginia

Historical trend data is not yet available for this occupation in this area.

Interpretation

Outlook and page notes

Nationally, Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, And Hostlers are projected to change by +0.3% from 2024 to 2034, with 200 annual openings.

Use this page to answer three separate questions: what the occupation pays here, how large the local market is, and whether this market is unusually concentrated for the occupation.

For metro pages in particular, read long-term trend rows as directional until the area comparability layer is fully wired. OEWS area definitions can change over time, and that matters more at the metro level than at the state level.