Freight Train Engineer Salary
$35.5K - $47.5K
16% of jobs
$47.5K - $59.5K
3% of jobs
$59.5K - $71.5K
4% of jobs
$75.7K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$71.5K - $83.5K
8% of jobs
$83.5K - $95.5K
19% of jobs
The median wage is $95.8K / yr.
$95.5K - $107.5K
29% of jobs
$107.5K - $119.5K
7% of jobs
$119.5K - $131.5K
3% of jobs
$131.5K - $143.5K
7% of jobs
$143.5K - $155.5K
2% of jobs
$155.5K - $167.5K
2% of jobs
$35.5K
$98.5K
$168K
$96,107
/year
$46.21
/hour
Freight Train Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$96,107
Columbus
Ohio
$92,830
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How much does a Freight Train Engineer make?
As of Jul 26, 2026, the average annual pay for a Freight Train Engineer in the United States is $96,107 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $46.21 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,848/week or $8,008/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $168,000 and as low as $35,500, the majority of Freight Train Engineer salaries currently range between $80,000 (25th percentile) to $108,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $140,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Freight Train Engineer varies little (about 28000), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
A Freight Train Engineer in your area makes on average $92,830 per year, or $3,277 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $96,107. Ohio ranks number 42 out of 50 states nationwide for Freight Train Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Freight Train Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Freight Train Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Freight Train Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Freight Train Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Johnstonville, CA, , with Pennington County, SD, and Kentville, NS, close behind in the second and third positions. Kentville, NS, beats the national average by $26,613 (27.7%), and Johnstonville, CA, furthers that trend with another $33,852 (35.2%) above the $96,107 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Freight Train Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 9% between Johnstonville, CA, and Cupertino, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Freight Train Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Johnstonville, CA | $129,959 | $62.48 |
Pennington County, SD | $125,754 | $60.46 |
Kentville, NS | $122,720 | $59.00 |
Whitehorse, YT | $121,939 | $58.62 |
Carcross, YT | $121,868 | $58.59 |
Haines Junction, YT | $121,451 | $58.39 |
North Cowichan, BC | $121,094 | $58.22 |
Duncan, BC | $120,628 | $57.99 |
Alberton, PE | $118,779 | $57.11 |
Cupertino, CA | $118,572 | $57.01 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Freight Train Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Freight Train Engineer job category, we found that Industry Operations Investigator jobs have average salaries similar than Freight Train Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Industry Operations Investigator | $76,607 | $36.83 |
Sr Transportation Manager | $74,701 | $35.91 |
Oil Terminal Manager | $71,911 | $34.57 |
International Freight Broker | $66,677 | $32.06 |
Logistics Management Analyst | $59,615 | $28.66 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
