Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $81K, rent takes 20.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,064/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers typically earn — is $51K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,040/month. At HUD’s $1,064/month FMR, rent would take 35% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 18% above the national median — $81K here vs. $69K nationally.

Iowa pays $81K median vs. the U.S. average of $69K — that’s +18%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 88.86), the purchasing-power equivalent is $91K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $80,910 a year, that works out to about $39 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $50,660, and experienced railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers can clear $82,240. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,093/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,064/month, which eats 20.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Iowa has a Regional Price Parity of 88.86 (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 railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers salary is worth about $91,053 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.