Highest-paying Cities for Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas

The top 87 highest paying cities for derrick operators, oil and gas (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of derrick operators, oil and gas in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $78,900, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the highest paying city for derrick operators, oil and gas. It is followed by Anchorage, Alaska (average annual salary $78,450). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of derrick operators, oil and gas in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 87 Highest-paying cities/areas for Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$78,900	$67,510	90
2	Anchorage, Alaska	$78,450	$61,830	50
3	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$73,040	$55,270	60
4	Railbelt-Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$70,680	$49,350	80
5	Eastern Montana nonmetropolitan area, Montana	$68,630	$39,000	50
6	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$68,040	$53,140	100
7	Casper, Wyoming	$66,030	$49,190	60
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$62,820	$48,090	30
9	South Arkansas nonmetropolitan area, Arkansas	$62,470	$31,140	n/a
10	Lafayette, Louisiana	$62,440	$40,320	130
11	West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$61,870	$60,010	640
12	Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$61,690	$43,680	340
13	West Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$61,590	$35,550	90
14	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$61,420	$43,680	140
15	Southern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$61,120	$33,160	80
16	Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$60,740	$47,610	40
17	Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Utah	$60,630	$48,040	n/a
18	Winnsboro nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$60,590	$38,470	40
19	Southwestern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$59,900	$36,310	80
20	Grand Junction, Colorado	$58,240	$41,620	70
21	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$57,870	$44,170	70
22	Far Western North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$57,780	$39,290	530
23	San Angelo, Texas	$56,740	$37,250	90
24	Tyler, Texas	$56,690	$51,270	140
25	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$56,670	$39,170	60
26	Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$53,290	$42,180	80
27	Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana	$52,670	$40,590	100
28	Northwestern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$51,970	$27,910	60
29	Greeley, Colorado	$51,330	$38,530	80
30	Fort Smith, Oklahoma	$50,690	$40,760	90
31	Northwestern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$50,390	$45,300	110
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$50,260	$41,290	210
33	New Iberia nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$50,070	$40,310	140
34	East and South Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$50,030	$34,130	40
35	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$50,000	$34,460	110
36	Southwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$50,000	$33,340	70
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$49,720	$40,880	110
38	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$49,710	$36,860	2,100
39	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$49,550	$33,680	30
40	Midland, Texas	$49,510	$35,780	760
41	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$49,000	$30,540	110
42	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$48,940	$36,890	110
43	Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Utah	$48,910	$34,260	110
44	Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, Louisiana	$48,750	$33,920	230
45	Gulf Coast Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$48,600	$29,940	370
46	Farmington, New Mexico	$48,550	$43,570	70
47	Southwestern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$47,420	$46,420	110
48	North Central Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$46,390	$33,090	170
49	Far Western Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$46,310	$38,650	70
50	Corpus Christi, Texas	$46,290	$30,700	100
51	Victoria, Texas	$45,510	$36,360	30
52	Northeastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$45,360	$35,430	50
53	Central Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$45,280	$34,150	160
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$45,140	$33,850	320
55	Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$44,990	$30,760	920
56	Odessa, Texas	$44,950	$37,610	360
57	Abilene, Texas	$44,710	$27,180	30
58	College Station-Bryan, Texas	$44,620	$36,480	50
59	Wichita, Kansas	$44,560	$35,650	30
60	Morgantown, West Virginia	$44,520	$28,670	30
61	Southeastern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$44,180	$37,260	70
62	Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$43,820	$37,420	50
63	Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$43,780	$35,430	540
64	Southeastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$43,430	$29,710	60
65	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$43,170	$37,200	260
66	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$42,460	$33,980	30
67	Eastern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$42,150	$28,810	40
68	Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$42,150	$28,900	30
69	Salt Lake City, Utah	$41,270	$33,700	30
70	Longview, Texas	$41,080	$27,430	120
71	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$40,970	$38,420	250
72	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$40,730	$33,100	290
73	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$40,170	$31,850	50
74	West Arkansas nonmetropolitan area, Arkansas	$39,250	$33,600	50
75	Laredo, Texas	$38,550	$32,000	n/a
76	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$38,250	$29,310	300
77	Wichita Falls, Texas	$37,990	$30,450	n/a
78	West Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$37,910	$27,400	80
79	East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$37,880	$32,170	40
80	North Central West Virginia nonmetropolitan area, West Virginia	$37,770	$29,990	150
81	Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$37,180	$29,720	40
82	Northeastern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$36,660	$26,180	170
83	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$36,250	$31,200	40
84	South Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$34,930	$27,250	80
85	Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas	$33,380	$25,240	n/a
86	Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$29,340	$18,900	50
87	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$23,090	$20,030	170

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for derrick operators, oil and gas.