Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $56K, rent takes 36% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,415/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,200/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new derrick operators, oil and gas typically earn — is $44K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,630/month. At HUD’s $1,415/month FMR, rent would take 54% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $56K locally vs. $59K nationally, a 4% difference.

Texas pays $56K median vs. the U.S. average of $59K — that’s -4%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 91.49), the purchasing-power equivalent is $61K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $56,100 a year, that works out to about $27 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $43,840, and experienced derrick operators, oil and gas can clear $74,690. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,926/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,415/month, which eats 36% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Texas has a Regional Price Parity of 91.49 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median derrick operators, oil and gas salary is worth about $61,318 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.