Rail Engineer Salary in Berkeley, CA

How much does a Rail Engineer make in Berkeley, CA?

As of January 01, 2026, the average salary for a Rail Engineer in Berkeley, CA is $158,322 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $76.

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

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $182,810
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $144,793 to $171,140
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $132,475
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Paid Annually Paid Monthly Paid Semimonthly Paid Biweekly Paid Weekly Paid Hourly
View as table View as graph 25% $144,793 10% $132,475 90% $182,810 75% $171,140 $158,322 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Rail Engineer Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary		 Monthly
Pay		 Weekly
Pay		 Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $171,140 $14,262 $3,291 $82
Average $158,322 $13,194 $3,045 $76
25th Percentile $144,793 $12,066 $2,784 $70
Check out Rail Engineer Job Openings in Berkeley, CA
Senior Software Engineer RAIL

Anduril Industries - Costa Mesa, CA

Sr Rail Bridge Engineer

GFT - Irvine, CA

Rail and Transit Engineer

Mott MacDonald - Los Angeles, CA

Civil Rail Engineer

STV Incorporated - Los Angeles, CA

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Key Factors That Influence Rail Engineer Salaries

A Rail Engineer'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, skills and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Rail Engineer Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Rail Engineer'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): $153,625
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $154,564
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $156,444
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $163,358
  • Expert (over 8 years): $167,044
Levels Salary
Entry Level Rail Engineer$153,625
Intermediate Level Rail Engineer$154,564
Senior Level Rail Engineer$156,444
Specialist Level Rail Engineer$163,358
Expert Level Rail Engineer$167,044
$153,625 0 yr
$154,564 < 2 yrs
$156,444 2-4 yrs
$163,358 5-8 yrs
$167,044 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Rail Engineers

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: $163,521
  • San Francisco: $161,914
  • Oakland: $158,322

What Skills Can Increase a Rail Engineer's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Analysis (Mentioned in 2.68% Job Postings): Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
  • Software Development (Mentioned in 4.7% Job Postings): Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development is a process of writing and maintaining the source code, but in a broader sense, it includes all that is involved between the conception of the desired software through to the final manifestation of the software, sometimes in a planned and structured process. Therefore, software development may include research, new development, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products. Software can be developed for a variety of purposes, the three most common being to meet specific needs of a specific client/business (the case with custom software), to meet a perceived need of some set of potential users (the case with commercial and open source software), or for personal use (e.g. a scientist may write software to automate a mundane task). Embedded software development, that is, the development of embedded software, such as used for controlling consumer products, requires the development process to be integrated with the development of the controlled physical product. System software underlies applications and the programming process itself, and is often developed separately.
  • Software Engineering (Mentioned in 2.8% Job Postings): Software engineering is the application of engineering to the development of software in a systematic method. Notable definitions of software engineering include: "the systematic application of scientific and technological knowledge, methods, and experience to the design, implementation, testing, and documentation of software"—The Bureau of Labor Statistics—IEEE Systems and software engineering - Vocabulary "The application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software"—IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology "an engineering discipline that is concerned with all aspects of software production"—Ian Sommerville "the establishment and use of sound engineering principles in order to economically obtain software that is reliable and works efficiently on real machines"—Fritz Bauer
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Analysis 2.68%
Software Development 4.7%
Software Engineering 2.8%
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 Rail Engineer's salary.
  • Open Source: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
  • Container: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
  • Innovation: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Open Source
 $164,655
4%
Container
 $163,072
3%
Innovation
 $163,072
3%
Kubernetes
 $163,072
3%
Python
 $161,489
2%
AWS
 $161,489
2%
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Rail Engineer Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Rail Engineer'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.

  • Yearly
  • Monthly
  • Weekly
  • Hourly
  • Table View
Last Updated on January 01, 2026
$144,793
Average $158,322/year
$171,140
$12,066
Average $13,194/month
$14,262
$2,784
Average $3,045/week
$3,291
$70
Average $76/hour
$82
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $171,140 $14,262 $3,291 $82
Average $158,322 $13,194 $3,045 $76
25th Percentile $144,793 $12,066 $2,784 $70

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Cost of Living In Berkeley, CA

Cost of Living in Berkeley, CA is
69.0% Higher
than the National Average

Use Salary.com's Cost of Living Calculator to find out what income you need to maintain your standard of living in a different city and how much more or less money you need to budget for basic expenses.

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