Transit and Railroad Police

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$90,230

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$68,990 – $119,290

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

4,390

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+3.2%

Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)

Openings a year (projected)

300

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Protect and police railroad and transit property, employees, or passengers.

Main tasks

• Prepare reports documenting investigation activities and results.
• Monitor transit areas and conduct security checks to protect railroad properties, patrons, and employees.
• Apprehend or remove trespassers or thieves from railroad property or coordinate with law enforcement agencies in apprehensions and removals.
• Direct security activities at derailments, fires, floods, or strikes involving railroad property.
• Patrol railroad yards, cars, stations, or other facilities to protect company property or shipments and to maintain order.
• Investigate or direct investigations of freight theft, suspicious damage or loss of passengers' valuables, or other crimes on railroad property.
• Examine credentials of unauthorized persons attempting to enter secured areas.
• Enforce traffic laws regarding the transit system and reprimand individuals who violate them.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 3

Medium preparation

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

  $76,210 median · +3.5% projected

• Security Guards

  $38,020 median · +0.9% projected

• First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives

  $106,040 median · +3.3% projected

• First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers

  $55,940 median · +3.7% projected

• Detectives and Criminal Investigators

  $93,790 median · +0.2% projected

• Compliance Officers

  $80,730 median · +3.8% projected