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Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers pay in Alabama and West Virginia
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers is $48,900 per year in Alabama. It is $91,380 per year in West Virginia. Alabama is 46.5% below West Virginia on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 53-4013 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 80 wage and salary jobs in Alabama and 40 in West Virginia. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings