Rail Car Repairers Salary
Rail Car Repairers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX make a median of $59,310 a year, or about $28.51 an hour. The range runs from $47K at the entry level to $62K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.63), that's roughly $60,134 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,573/month, about 38.2% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $59K get you in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands’s Regional Price Parity (98.63). 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Pay for rail car repairers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands runs about 12% below the U.S. median of $68K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,573/month, which is 38% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.63) 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $60K | $58K |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | $57K | $63K |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | $58K | $61K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Entry-level rail car repairers (10th percentile) start around $47K. Mid-career wages sit at $59K. Top earners bring in $62K or more, a $15K 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 |
| Maine | $60K | -11% | 70 |
| Tennessee | $60K | -11% | 320 |
| 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 with published data
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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a rail car repairer afford a 2BR apartment alone in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $59K, rent takes 38% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,573/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.
What’s the entry-level salary for rail car repairers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new rail car repairers typically earn — is $47K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,815/month. At HUD’s $1,573/month FMR, rent would take 56% 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Local pay runs 12% below the national median — $59K here vs. $68K nationally.
How does Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands compare to the national average for rail car repairers?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands pays $59K median vs. the U.S. average of $68K — that’s -12%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.63), the purchasing-power equivalent is $60K — below the national median.
How much do rail car repairers make in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
The median is $59,310 a year, that works out to about $29 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $46,910, and experienced rail car repairers can clear $61,740. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $59K enough to live in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,141/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,573/month, which eats 38% 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has a Regional Price Parity of 98.63 (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 $60,134 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.