How much do derrickhands make in 2026?
Derrickhands earn a national median of $58,620 a year, or $28.18 an hour, according to BLS OEWS May 2025 for SOC 47-5011, derrick operators, oil and gas, with the bottom 10% near $43,380 and the top 10% at $81,800 across just 10,590 workers. This is an exact occupational match and an unusually small population, which makes the band a clean description of the job. The derrickhand works the derrick board handling the upper end of the pipe stand during tripping operations, and off the floor is responsible for the mud system: mixing, monitoring properties and working with the mud engineer to keep the fluid within specification. That combination of physical work at height and technical responsibility for the drilling fluid is why the position sits above floorhand pay and below the driller's. Progression from here to driller is the standard route, and well control certification is the gate. As with all field roles, hitch rotations, overtime and employer-specific per diem and travel arrangements shape the actual annual total in ways the wage figure cannot capture. BLS projects 0.5% growth through 2034 with roughly 1,000 openings a year. → Full derrickhand career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $58,620 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Derrickhands earn a national median $58,620/yr ($28.18/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-5011); the P10 to P90 range is $43,380 to $81,800.
- This is an exact SOC match on a very small population of 10,590 workers, so the band describes the derrick position specifically rather than field work generally.
- The role combines pipe handling at height with responsibility for the mud system, which is why it sits above floorhand pay and below the driller's.
- Well control certification is the practical gate to the driller position, and moving up is where the meaningful pay increase in this career sits.
US Derrickhand Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do derrickhands earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 47-5011; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-5011, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a derrickhand earn at each career stage?
Derrickhand pay follows crew seniority and well control credentials. Each median below is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 47-5011.
By State
Which states pay derrickhands the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates, not BLS state observations: the national median for SOC 47-5011 scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index. Drilling employment concentrates in active basins, principally in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Louisiana, and pay in remote basins frequently exceeds what a general wage index predicts.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($67,410), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay derrickhands the most?
Metro figures are modeled, national median times state wage index times published metro index, not BLS metropolitan observations. Drilling rigs are not located in metropolitan areas, so this table is cost-of-living context for where a crew member lives between hitches rather than where the work is.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a derrickhand’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does derrickhand pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Derrickhands sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify derrickhand wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a derrickhand actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Derrickhand Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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