The average annual salaries for railroad brake, signal, and switch operators in the state of South Dakota are shown in Table 1. The comparison of the salary statistics of railroad brake, signal, and switch operators amongst South Dakota areas is shown in Table 2. The salary statistics are based on the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile bracket | Average annual salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $32,460 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $37,020 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $42,980 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $47,970 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $63,300 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for railroad brake, signal, and switch operators in South Dakota in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is $63,300. The median (50th percentile) annual salary is $42,980. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $32,460.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of railroad brake, signal, and switch operators from 2012 to 2015. Note that there is no salary data for some years between 2012 and 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Growth | 3-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $42,980 | 2.37% | -29.60% |
| 2014 | $41,960 | -9.80% | - |
| 2013 | $46,070 | -20.90% | - |
| 2012 | $55,700 | - | - |