Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders pay in the U.S.

$59,970avg. a year
$28.83 an hour · 10,700 employed

Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders in the U.S. earn an average of $59,970 a year and a median of $58,870. Pay is highest in Montana ($80,670) and lowest in Arkansas ($36,880).

$58,870Median pay
$28.83Average hourly
+18%Avg. pay since 2020
10,700Jobs in the U.S.

Top-paying states for tank car, truck, and ship loaders

Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.

180 jobs
Montana
$80,670
$38.79 an hour
2110 jobs
Maryland
$79,120
$38.04 an hour
3240 jobs
Alabama
$77,470
$37.24 an hour
4110 jobs
California
$74,570
$35.85 an hour
5
Oregon
$71,430
$34.34 an hour
6
Minnesota
$70,490
$33.89 an hour
740 jobs
New Hampshire
$68,370
$32.87 an hour
890 jobs
South Carolina
$67,700
$32.55 an hour
9140 jobs
Massachusetts
$65,670
$31.57 an hour
101,620 jobs
Texas
$65,060
$31.28 an hour

Why people trust JobPayFacts

Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Browse all jobs

Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders pay, charted

Pay over time

United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian

Where the jobs are

Employment by state, May 2025

Average pay by state

May 2025 · tap a state
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL
Under $50k$50k–$57k$57k–$66k$66k+

Top-paying metro areas

Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
Metro areaAvg. payHourly
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$68,080$32.73
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX$66,360$31.90
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$63,150$30.36
New Orleans-Metairie, LA$60,850$29.26
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$59,070$28.40
St. Louis, MO-IL$56,390$27.11
Baton Rouge, LA$54,740$26.32
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN$51,600$24.81

Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders pay in every state

States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.

StateAvg. payMedianJobs
Alabama$77,470$75,450240
Arkansas$36,880$33,800150
California$74,570$68,600110
Colorado$52,700$51,20080
Florida$52,930$45,540430
Georgia$48,900$51,16050
Hawaii$61,840$45,240–
Idaho$44,560$41,70080
Indiana$50,030$44,310250
Iowa$52,970$51,450180
Kentucky$61,480$53,160130
Louisiana$59,520$58,900500
Maryland$79,120$81,320110
Massachusetts$65,670$71,750140
Michigan$57,310$57,900200
Minnesota$70,490$76,620–
Missouri$57,600$57,750180
Montana$80,670$80,07080
Nebraska$47,840$46,300–
New Hampshire$68,370$70,03040
New Jersey$63,190$64,890120
New Mexico$47,980$48,01080
New York$50,700$48,220110
North Carolina$45,370$44,910240
North Dakota$62,910$61,210310
Ohio$62,140$57,700820
Oklahoma$39,900$35,360170
Oregon$71,430$74,040–
Pennsylvania$54,590$48,12090
South Carolina$67,700$80,70090
Texas$65,060$61,1701,620
Utah$52,810$53,370–
Virginia$46,130$41,19060
West Virginia$55,790$54,75090
Wisconsin$57,420$57,250170

Metro areas with the most jobs

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$59,070
1,460 jobs
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
$66,360
970 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$56,390
320 jobs
New Orleans-Metairie, LA
$60,850
210 jobs
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
$68,080
200 jobs
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
$51,600
120 jobs
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$63,150
120 jobs
Baton Rouge, LA
$54,740
100 jobs

Questions and answers

How much do tank car, truck, and ship loaders make?

The average is $59,970 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $58,870 and half earn less (the median).

What is the hourly pay?

The average hourly wage is $28.83, and the median is $28.30 an hour.

Which state pays tank car, truck, and ship loaders the most?

Montana, with an average of $80,670 a year. The best-paying metro area is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX at $68,080.

What is the pay range?

The lowest-paid 10% earn under $39,460 a year, and the top 10% earn over $83,160.

Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 53-7121. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.