Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders Salary
In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, tank car, truck, and ship loaders earn $61,220 at the median, or about $29.43 an hour. The range runs from $51K at the entry level to $94K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.63), that's roughly $62,070 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,573/month, about 37% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $61K 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.
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What this looks like in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Tank car, truck, and ship loaders pay in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands tracks closely to the national median, $61K locally vs. $59K nationwide, a 4% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,573/month, which is 36.8% 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. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for tank car, truck, and ship loaders in metros near Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $77K | $75K |
| Corpus Christi | $82K | $88K |
| New Orleans-Metairie | $62K | $67K |
| Baton Rouge | $50K | $55K |
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 tank car, truck, and ship loaders (10th percentile) start around $51K. Mid-career wages sit at $61K. Top earners bring in $94K or more, a $43K spread from bottom to top.
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | $81K | +38% | 110 |
| South Carolina | $81K | +37% | 90 |
| Montana | $80K | +36% | 80 |
| Minnesota | $77K | +30% | N/A |
| Alabama | $75K | +28% | 240 |
| Oregon | $74K | +26% | N/A |
| Massachusetts | $72K | +22% | 140 |
| New Hampshire | $70K | +19% | 40 |
| California | $69K | +17% | 110 |
| New Jersey | $65K | +10% | 120 |
| North Dakota | $61K | +4% | 310 |
| Texas | $61K | +4% | 1,620 |
| Louisiana | $59K | +0% | 500 |
| Michigan | $58K | -2% | 200 |
| Missouri | $58K | -2% | 180 |
| Ohio | $58K | -2% | 820 |
| Wisconsin | $57K | -3% | 170 |
| West Virginia | $55K | -7% | 90 |
| Utah | $53K | -9% | N/A |
| Kentucky | $53K | -10% | 130 |
| Iowa | $51K | -13% | 180 |
| Colorado | $51K | -13% | 80 |
| Georgia | $51K | -13% | 50 |
| New York | $48K | -18% | 110 |
| Pennsylvania | $48K | -18% | 90 |
| New Mexico | $48K | -18% | 80 |
| Nebraska | $46K | -21% | N/A |
| Florida | $46K | -23% | 430 |
| Hawaii | $45K | -23% | N/A |
| North Carolina | $45K | -24% | 240 |
| Indiana | $44K | -25% | 250 |
| Idaho | $42K | -29% | 80 |
| Virginia | $41K | -30% | 60 |
| Oklahoma | $35K | -40% | 170 |
| Arkansas | $34K | -43% | 150 |
Showing 1–10 of 35 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track tank car, truck, and ship loaders 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 tank car, truck, and ship loader afford a 2BR apartment alone in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $61K, rent takes 36.8% 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 $1,300/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for tank car, truck, and ship loaders in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new tank car, truck, and ship loaders typically earn — is $51K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,080/month. At HUD’s $1,573/month FMR, rent would take 51% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is tank car, truck, and ship loader a high-paying job in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $61K locally vs. $59K nationally, a 4% difference.
How does Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands compare to the national average for tank car, truck, and ship loaders?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands pays $61K median vs. the U.S. average of $59K — that’s +4%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.63), the purchasing-power equivalent is $62K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do tank car, truck, and ship loaders make in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
The median is $61,220 a year, that works out to about $29 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $51,340, and experienced tank car, truck, and ship loaders can clear $94,030. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $61K enough to live in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,269/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,573/month, which eats 36.8% 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 tank car, truck, and ship loaders 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 tank car, truck, and ship loaders salary is worth about $62,070 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do tank car, truck, and ship loaders 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.