Highest-paying Cities for Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas

The top 100 highest paying cities for rotary drill 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 rotary drill operators, oil and gas in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $116,060, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California is the highest paying city for rotary drill operators, oil and gas. It is followed by Bakersfield-Delano, California (average annual salary $98,550). 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 rotary drill operators, oil and gas in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$116,060	$104,440	150
2	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$98,550	$39,850	280
3	Southwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$89,380	$40,650	50
4	Southwestern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$85,830	$35,460	330
5	Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, Louisiana	$82,640	$42,680	80
6	Anchorage, Alaska	$82,060	$60,440	70
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$81,680	$36,700	170
8	Lafayette, Louisiana	$81,440	$50,720	130
9	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$79,960	$37,420	70
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$77,160	$36,670	190
11	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$75,940	$49,720	180
12	West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$75,390	$56,230	190
13	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$74,130	$42,490	60
14	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$72,790	$30,280	200
15	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$69,860	$34,960	n/a
16	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$69,620	$62,230	80
17	Tyler, Texas	$69,590	$42,770	100
18	Natchitoches nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$69,130	$53,510	50
19	Farmington, New Mexico	$69,060	$49,180	60
20	Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$68,320	$49,450	40
21	Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$65,310	$41,620	370
22	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$64,040	$39,140	120
23	San Angelo, Texas	$63,880	$36,810	100
24	Gulf Coast Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$63,270	$37,330	260
25	West Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$62,270	$29,630	160
26	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$61,800	$45,470	40
27	Salt Lake City, Utah	$61,740	$32,730	60
28	Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$61,730	$50,180	30
29	Railbelt-Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$61,650	$46,270	140
30	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$61,590	$39,740	60
31	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$61,110	$44,230	1,880
32	Far Western North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$61,000	$39,640	720
33	Eastern Montana nonmetropolitan area, Montana	$59,740	$36,970	170
34	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$59,040	$27,430	240
35	Greeley, Colorado	$59,020	$42,400	110
36	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$58,740	$30,220	130
37	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$58,470	$31,430	140
38	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$57,290	$38,710	370
39	New Iberia nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$56,760	$36,000	540
40	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$56,460	$42,540	n/a
41	Casper, Wyoming	$56,290	$38,300	80
42	Longview, Texas	$56,180	$29,250	160
43	Williamsport, Pennsylvania	$56,020	$35,730	110
44	Northwestern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$55,820	$33,970	110
45	West Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$55,640	$34,460	230
46	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$55,310	$49,980	40
47	Fort Smith, Oklahoma	$55,190	$42,750	n/a
48	Far Western Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$54,340	$32,700	80
49	Northwestern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$54,000	$39,930	170
50	Southeastern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$54,000	$25,090	370
51	Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Utah	$53,420	$35,050	160
52	Odessa, Texas	$53,340	$42,990	440
53	Victoria, Texas	$53,250	$40,400	40
54	Southern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$52,890	$35,150	140
55	Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana	$52,420	$38,950	170
56	Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Utah	$52,320	$48,220	90
57	North Central West Virginia nonmetropolitan area, West Virginia	$52,050	$32,540	160
58	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$51,620	$39,510	350
59	Northeastern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$51,550	$35,880	40
60	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$51,420	$33,770	30
61	Grand Junction, Colorado	$50,690	$42,990	280
62	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$50,430	$48,730	90
63	Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$50,140	$27,910	380
64	Southern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area, West Virginia	$50,080	$27,830	n/a
65	Southwestern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$49,590	$25,090	80
66	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$49,430	$38,660	820
67	West Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$49,250	$49,240	30
68	Midland, Texas	$48,910	$36,730	890
69	South Arkansas nonmetropolitan area, Arkansas	$48,910	$40,950	60
70	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$48,570	$38,280	40
71	Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$48,200	$37,240	40
72	Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$48,190	$35,050	350
73	Southern Indiana nonmetropolitan area, Indiana	$48,170	$34,360	50
74	East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$47,820	$34,370	100
75	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$47,820	$32,640	310
76	Central Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$47,610	$29,820	210
77	Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$47,080	$34,220	60
78	East and South Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$46,640	$36,750	60
79	Abilene, Texas	$46,620	$36,750	50
80	Northeastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$46,240	$34,320	50
81	Corpus Christi, Texas	$45,990	$37,160	120
82	Wichita Falls, Texas	$45,790	$33,510	50
83	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$44,670	$34,490	100
84	McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas	$44,570	$31,440	50
85	Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$44,510	$26,580	50
86	North Central Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$44,420	$35,820	270
87	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$44,370	$35,070	70
88	Kansas City, Missouri	$42,910	$26,620	50
89	Amarillo, Texas	$42,720	$28,180	40
90	Charleston, West Virginia	$42,720	$33,360	100
91	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$42,680	$30,250	30
92	Knoxville, Tennessee	$42,580	$28,210	50
93	Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas	$42,410	$32,210	50
94	Enid, Oklahoma	$42,070	$34,120	n/a
95	Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia	$41,860	$24,580	40
96	College Station-Bryan, Texas	$41,650	$32,250	120
97	Wichita, Kansas	$41,120	$32,990	40
98	Eastern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$41,070	$32,430	310
99	Morgantown, West Virginia	$41,000	$21,390	30
100	South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, Kentucky	$39,870	$26,250	60

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