Best Cities for Railroad Conductors and Yardmasterss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where railroad conductors and yardmasterss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	OklahomaState	1.48	$102,260	$115,548	11%
2	MississippiState	1.18	$78,010	$91,993	14%
3	IndianaState	1.15	$81,260	$89,790	16%
4	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$83,610	$86,196	19%
5	MichiganState	1.10	$78,960	$85,547	17%
6	New MexicoState	1.09	$77,890	$84,663	16%
7	IllinoisState	1.05	$79,820	$81,951	20%
8	GeorgiaState	1.04	$75,810	$81,167	22%
9	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$92,400	$80,840	29%
10	MinnesotaState	1.03	$78,930	$80,541	19%
11	South CarolinaState	1.03	$73,660	$80,065	20%
12	DelawareState	1.02	$80,410	$79,614	20%
13	ArkansasState	1.01	$67,710	$78,459	16%
14	FloridaState	1.01	$79,600	$78,424	26%
15	TennesseeState	1.01	$71,740	$78,404	21%
16	ArizonaState	0.99	$78,080	$77,384	23%
17	VirginiaState	0.99	$79,900	$77,198	24%
18	KansasState	0.98	$68,730	$76,367	18%
19	MarylandState	0.98	$83,390	$76,364	24%
20	MissouriState	0.98	$68,030	$76,783	18%
21	ColoradoState	0.94	$77,550	$73,577	29%
22	WashingtonState	0.94	$79,040	$73,663	29%
23	WyomingState	0.94	$68,430	$73,581	17%
24	TexasState	0.93	$68,980	$72,155	24%
25	New YorkState	0.91	$80,000	$71,111	28%
26	South DakotaState	0.89	$62,730	$69,086	18%
27	LouisianaState	0.88	$62,170	$69,001	20%
28	OhioState	0.87	$61,390	$67,909	20%
29	OregonState	0.85	$68,580	$66,583	28%
30	West VirginiaState	0.84	$55,180	$65,534	18%
31	WisconsinState	0.83	$59,690	$64,670	22%
32	CaliforniaState	0.81	$69,950	$63,189	39%
33	North CarolinaState	0.80	$58,930	$62,426	26%
34	KentuckyState	0.76	$52,380	$59,186	22%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.60	$45,600	$46,914	42%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).