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Rig Hand Salary in the United States

How much does a Rig Hand make in the United States?

As of September 01, 2026, the average salary for a Rig Hand in the United States is $58,262 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $28.

However, a Rig Hand's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $70,592
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $52,470 to $64,716
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $47,197
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Rig Hand Salaries

A Rig Hand's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Rig Hand Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Rig Hand's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $51,819
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $57,787
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $71,786
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $83,749
  • Expert (over 8 years): $96,436
Levels Salary
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$51,819
Rig Hand Level Rig Hand$57,787
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$71,786
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$83,749
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$96,436
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How Do Rig Hand Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Rig Hands. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $64,508.
  • California: $64,263.
  • Massachusetts: $63,407.

Top Paying Cities for Rig Hands

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $73,486
  • San Francisco: $72,681
  • Oakland: $71,150

What Skills Can Increase a Rig Hand's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Communicates Effectively (Mentioned in 4.52% Job Postings): Effective communication is the process of exchanging ideas, thoughts, opinions, knowledge, and data so that the message is received and understood with clarity and purpose.
  • First Aid (Mentioned in 4.09% Job Postings): First aid refers to medical attention that is usually administered immediately after the injury occurs and at the location where it occurred.
  • Continuous Improvement (Mentioned in 1.94% Job Postings): A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process (abbreviated as CIP or CI), is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once. Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility. Some see CIPs as a meta-process for most management systems (such as business process management, quality management, project management, and program management). W. Edwards Deming, a pioneer of the field, saw it as part of the 'system' whereby feedback from the process and customer were evaluated against organisational goals. The fact that it can be called a management process does not mean that it needs to be executed by 'management'; but rather merely that it makes decisions about the implementation of the delivery process and the design of the delivery process itself.
Skills Demand Percentage
Communicates Effectively 4.52%
First Aid 4.09%
Continuous Improvement 1.94%
See More Skills

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Rig Hand's salary.

  • Collaboration: Can increase your salary by up to 22%.
  • Products and Services: Can increase your salary by up to 17%.
  • Networking: Can increase your salary by up to 15%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Collaboration $71,080
22%
Products and Services $68,167
17%
Networking $67,001
15%
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Rig Hand Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Rig Hand's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on September 01, 2026
$52,470
Average $58,262/year
$64,716
$4,373
Average $4,855/month
$5,393
$1,009
Average $1,120/week
$1,245
$25
Average $28/hour
$31
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $64,716 $5,393 $1,245 $31
Average $58,262 $4,855 $1,120 $28
25th Percentile $52,470 $4,373 $1,009 $25

Most common benefits for Rig Hand

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Rig Hand

Here are companies hiring for Rig Hand and their salaries, click below for more details.

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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

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