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Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters: apprenticeship hours and pay
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Approved apprenticeship titles
One apprenticeship title on the Department of Labor's approved list fall under Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters, trained competency-based, hybrid, time-based. The shortest approved term is 2,000 hours, for Railroad Conductor (competency-based).
| Title | RAPIDS code | Approach and term |
|---|---|---|
| Railroad Conductor | 3012 | Competency-Based: 2,000 hours Hybrid: 2,000 to 2,500 hours Time-Based: 2,000 hours |
Time-based programs count hours on the job; competency-based programs move on when the apprentice shows the skills; hybrid programs use both, within a range of hours (29 CFR 29.5(b)(2)). Each registered program sets its own term inside what the approved title allows.
What railroad conductors and yardmasters earn, by state
Oklahoma has the highest state median for railroad conductors and yardmasters ($102,260) and Kentucky the lowest ($52,380), across the 33 states with a published figure.
| State | Median pay | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | $102,260 | $49.16 | 310 |
| Pennsylvania | $83,610 | $40.20 | 2,750 |
| Maryland | $83,390 | $40.09 | 300 |
| Indiana | $81,260 | $39.07 | 1,720 |
| Delaware | $80,410 | $38.66 | Not published |
| New York | $80,000 | $38.46 | 6,980 |
| Virginia | $79,900 | $38.41 | 900 |
| Illinois | $79,820 | $38.38 | 2,790 |
| Florida | $79,600 | $38.27 | 760 |
| Washington | $79,040 | $38.00 | 810 |
| Michigan | $78,960 | $37.96 | 760 |
| Minnesota | $78,930 | $37.95 | 830 |
| Arizona | $78,080 | $37.54 | 460 |
| Mississippi | $78,010 | $37.50 | 440 |
| New Mexico | $77,890 | $37.45 | 400 |
| Colorado | $77,550 | $37.28 | 490 |
| Georgia | $75,810 | $36.45 | 1,740 |
| South Carolina | $73,660 | $35.42 | 420 |
| Tennessee | $71,740 | $34.49 | 790 |
| California | $69,950 | $33.63 | 1,500 |
| Texas | $68,980 | $33.16 | 4,640 |
| Kansas | $68,730 | $33.05 | 1,200 |
| Oregon | $68,580 | $32.97 | 390 |
| Wyoming | $68,430 | $32.90 | Not published |
| Missouri | $68,030 | $32.71 | 970 |
| Arkansas | $67,710 | $32.56 | 390 |
| South Dakota | $62,730 | $30.16 | 90 |
| Louisiana | $62,170 | $29.89 | 390 |
| Ohio | $61,390 | $29.52 | 1,480 |
| Wisconsin | $59,690 | $28.70 | 630 |
| North Carolina | $58,930 | $28.33 | Not published |
| West Virginia | $55,180 | $26.53 | 320 |
| Kentucky | $52,380 | $25.18 | 110 |
Finding a program
The public sponsor file names the organizations that run registered apprenticeships but not the occupations each one trains, so this guide names no sponsor. Search apprenticeship.gov's Apprenticeship Finder for this title, or ask your American Job Center which local programs train it.
Apprenticeship sponsors by state (25,633) · All approved occupations
Sources: apprenticeship.gov approved occupations list (Last-Modified October 8, 2026); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (all industries; blanks are figures BLS does not publish).