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Locomotive Engineers

SOC 53-4011 · 2024-2034

Drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight. Interpret train orders, electronic or manual signals, and railroad rules and regulations.

How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.

Shrinking -6.3%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.

What California expects of this job

Typical pay in California

$78,757per year

Projected openings

1,130

Projected change

-6.3%

Usually needs

High school diploma or equivalent

Skills this work uses most

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.

1. Operation and Control
2. Operations Monitoring
3. Active Listening
4. Speaking
5. Critical Thinking
6. Monitoring

Pay by region

What the pay actually ranges across

The lowest-paid tenth earn under

$53,404

A quarter earn under

$75,998

Half earn under

$78,757

Three quarters earn under

$81,690

The highest-paid tenth earn over

$81,690

A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.

Similar work

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.