Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $57K, rent takes 26.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,008/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new rotary drill operators, oil and gas typically earn — is $47K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,804/month. At HUD’s $1,008/month FMR, rent would take 36% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 16% below the national median — $57K here vs. $68K nationally. Cost of living is 11% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

West Virginia pays $57K median vs. the U.S. average of $68K — that’s -16%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 89.03), the purchasing-power equivalent is $64K — below the national median.

The median is $57,020 a year, that works out to about $27 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $46,730, and experienced rotary drill operators, oil and gas can clear $80,250. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,818/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,008/month, which eats 26.4% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

West Virginia has a Regional Price Parity of 89.03 (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 rotary drill operators, oil and gas salary is worth about $64,046 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.