Rail Car Repairers Salary
Rail Car Repairers in Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA make a median of $53,530 a year, or about $25.73 an hour. The range runs from $50K at the entry level to $74K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.65), that's roughly $54,263 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,493/month, about 41.7% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $54K get you in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Harrisburg-Carlisle’s Regional Price Parity (98.65). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About rail car repairers
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What this looks like in Harrisburg-Carlisle
Pay for rail car repairers in Harrisburg-Carlisle runs about 21% below the U.S. median of $68K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,493/month, which is 41.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.65) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for rail car repairerss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for rail car repairers in metros near Harrisburg-Carlisle, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | $61K | $60K |
| Pittsburgh | $60K | $63K |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City | $92K | $82K |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | $89K | $86K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
Entry-level rail car repairers (10th percentile) start around $50K. Mid-career wages sit at $54K. Top earners bring in $74K or more, a $24K spread from bottom to top.
Rail Car Repairers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Rail Car Repairers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $109K | +61% | 770 |
| Maryland | $89K | +32% | 560 |
| Oregon | $87K | +30% | 230 |
| Colorado | $87K | +28% | 250 |
| Idaho | $85K | +26% | 110 |
| New York | $85K | +25% | 1,730 |
| Illinois | $85K | +25% | 1,850 |
| Utah | $84K | +24% | 100 |
| Virginia | $84K | +24% | 210 |
| Arizona | $81K | +20% | 170 |
| Delaware | $79K | +17% | 130 |
| New Jersey | $79K | +17% | 410 |
| Minnesota | $78K | +15% | 170 |
| South Dakota | $72K | +6% | 90 |
| California | $68K | +1% | 700 |
| Missouri | $68K | +1% | 220 |
| New Mexico | $68K | +0% | 120 |
| Michigan | $64K | -5% | 370 |
| Georgia | $64K | -5% | 980 |
| Washington | $63K | -6% | 180 |
| Pennsylvania | $62K | -8% | 970 |
| Florida | $62K | -8% | 410 |
| Iowa | $61K | -10% | 340 |
| Oklahoma | $61K | -10% | 90 |
| Indiana | $60K | -10% | 670 |
| Tennessee | $60K | -11% | 320 |
| Maine | $60K | -11% | 70 |
| Kentucky | $59K | -12% | 770 |
| Texas | $59K | -12% | 2,690 |
| Wyoming | $59K | -13% | 250 |
| Wisconsin | $59K | -13% | 220 |
| Alabama | $58K | -14% | 280 |
| Arkansas | $54K | -20% | 340 |
| Ohio | $53K | -21% | 690 |
| West Virginia | $51K | -25% | 100 |
| Kansas | $48K | -29% | 300 |
| Nevada | $48K | -29% | 50 |
| Louisiana | $48K | -29% | 190 |
| North Carolina | $48K | -29% | 350 |
| Mississippi | $47K | -30% | 320 |
Showing 1–10 of 40 states
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track rail car repairers salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Harrisburg-Carlisle numbers change.
Related careers in Repair & Maintenance
Frequently asked questions
Can a rail car repairer afford a 2BR apartment alone in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $54K, rent takes 41.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,493/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,100/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for rail car repairers in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new rail car repairers typically earn — is $50K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,977/month. At HUD’s $1,493/month FMR, rent would take 50% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is rail car repairer a high-paying job in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Local pay runs 21% below the national median — $54K here vs. $68K nationally.
How does Harrisburg-Carlisle compare to the national average for rail car repairers?
Harrisburg-Carlisle pays $54K median vs. the U.S. average of $68K — that’s -21%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.65), the purchasing-power equivalent is $54K — below the national median.
How much do rail car repairers make in Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA?
The median is $53,530 a year, that works out to about $26 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $49,610, and experienced rail car repairers can clear $73,540. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $54K enough to live in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,617/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,493/month, which eats 41.3% 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.
How far does a rail car repairers salary go in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Harrisburg-Carlisle has a Regional Price Parity of 98.65 (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 rail car repairers salary is worth about $54,263 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do rail car repairers get paid the most?
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.