Rig Hand Salary in the United States

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

As of April 01, 2026, the average salary for a Rig Hand in the United States is $58,249 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): $70,579
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $52,457 to $64,703
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $47,183
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View as table View as graph 25% $52,457 10% $47,183 90% $70,579 75% $64,703 $58,249 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Rig Hand Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $64,703 $5,392 $1,244 $31
Average $58,249 $4,854 $1,120 $28
25th Percentile $52,457 $4,371 $1,009 $25
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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): $51,829
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $57,774
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $71,783
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $83,759
  • Expert (over 8 years): $96,434
Levels Salary
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$51,829
Rig Hand Level Rig Hand$57,774
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$71,783
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$83,759
Rig Opera... Level Rig Hand$96,434
$51,829 0 yr
$57,774 < 2 yrs
$71,783 2-4 yrs
$83,759 5-8 yrs
$96,434 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

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: $73,469
  • San Francisco: $72,747
  • Oakland: $71,133

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.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Communicates Effectively 4.52%
First Aid 4.09%
Continuous Improvement 1.94%
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
$71,063
22%
Products and Services
$68,151
17%
Networking
$66,986
15%
Service Quality
$66,404
14%
Safety Policies and Procedures
$64,656
11%
Integrity
$64,074
10%
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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 April 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Rig Hand

Salaries for a Rig Hand can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $94,487 in 2023 to around $93,712 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Rig Hand salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Rig Hand Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$94,487
2024
$94,497
2025
$93,712
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $94,487
2024 $94,497
2025 $93,712
2026
View More
2027
View More

Most common benefits for Rig Hand

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

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