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twc@transportcenter.orgTransit Workforce Data Dashboard
- Overview
- Current Employment
- Workforce Demographics
- Employment Trends
- Employment Projections
- Wages, Education, & Training
TWC’s Transit Workforce Data Dashboard
Overview
The Transit Workforce Data Dashboard presents quantitative, descriptive data about the composition of the public transit and broader transportation workforce and trends in employment using a series of charts and graphics. This information is relevant for industry discussions in a range of contexts, including: strategic workforce planning in recruitment, retention, and other areas; examining and addressing opportunities and challenges related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access; and identifying training and funding needs.
In this dashboard, data come from three main sources: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Lightcast, and the National Transit Database (NTD). In all cases, we have used the most recent year of data available and will update the dashboard as new waves of data are published. Tabs and individual charts are labelled to specify whether data are specific to public transit or reflect total employment in selected transportation and related occupations. For more information, please view the General Notes and Data Sources panels below.
General Notes
Charts are grouped by topic in tabs. This dashboard is a work in progress and will evolve over time. Please email us at twc@transitworkforce.org to suggest future analyses that would be helpful to your transit agency’s operations.
In some cases, we rounded percentage amounts up or down by <1% to ensure all percentages added to 100. More information about our process is available upon request.
Please note that the dashboard is meant to be viewed in full-screen mode; re-sizing your browser window may adversely affect the interactive charts’ readability. The data dashboard is not yet mobile-device compatible; mobile-friendly updates will be available in future.
The dashboard is compatible with the accessibility widget (bottom right of the page) that is available across the TWC site. However, to enlarge charts and data labels we recommend using your browser’s zoom function rather than the widget.
Data Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics Data
BLS releases multiple workforce datasets. Our dashboard features relevant demographic data about the composition of the U.S. transit workforce sourced from BLS’ Current Population Survey; summaries of BLS’ occupational projections; and data about wages and typical education and training levels in selected occupations sourced from several BLS databases. These data are accurate, up-to-date, and nationally representative, and allow analysis based on specific occupations. However, demographic data are not available for all occupations or for workers in occupations within specific industries. Therefore, the dashboard presents summaries for transit-related occupations across the entire U.S. economy, inclusive of both public transit workers and those employed in other industries. Data reflect annual averages.
Lightcast Occupation Data
Data from Lightcast, a labor market information platform, are used to illustrate recent trends in employment in transit-related occupations. Lightcast combines multiple public data sources to create occupational datasets suited for time series analysis.
The transit-related occupations for which BLS and Lightcast data are presented were chosen from a list of transportation occupations created by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That list is available here. The subset of occupations presented here were chosen based on relevance to public transit specifically, and data availability, as certain types of data (e.g., demographics) are not provided for smaller occupations.
National Transit Database Data
NTD collects data on a variety of agency characteristics from transit systems across the U.S. Each year, NTD releases data on transit employment, some of which are used in this dashboard. All recipients of Urbanized Area Formula Program (5307) or Rural Formula Program (5311) funds are required to report to NTD. The reporting body includes 3,000 or more transit systems, but only Full Reporters (systems receiving Urbanized Area Formula Grants and operating more than 30 vehicles or either fixed guideway or high intensity busways) report employment data. NTD aggregates employees into broad categories (e.g., vehicle operations, vehicle maintenance), not by specific occupational classifications. Employment statistics reflect directly operated services only. Not all transit providers are required to report to NTD and thus these data do not reflect all transit employees in the U.S. For more information, please visit https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd.
NTD’s mode categories were grouped in this dashboard in the following ways: “bus” includes bus, bus rapid transit, commuter bus, and trolley bus; “light rail” includes light rail and street car rail; and “other” includes Alaska Railroad, cable car, ferryboat, hybrid rail, inclined plane, monorail/automated guideway, and vanpool. This re-categorization simplifies the charts and makes them more straightforward to the viewer, particularly in light of the relatively small number of workers in many of the categories.
Public Transit Employment by Occupational Category, Transit Mode, Full-Time/Part-Time Positions, and State
This section presents NTD data on the concentration of part-time and full-time workers in certain occupational categories and transit modes, as well as the overlap between the two. These data reflect employment in directly operated services at Full Reporter agencies (systems receiving Urbanized Area Formula Grants and operating more than 30 vehicles or either fixed guideway or high intensity busways). For definitions of the occupational categories, please see the 2021 NTD Database File Dictionary.
Transit Employees by
Occupational Category
Source: TWC analysis of National Transit Database, 2021
Chart description: More than half of transit workers are employed in vehicle operations (55.1%), followed by vehicle maintenance (17%).
Current Transit Employee Percentages, Mode within Occupation
Source: TWC analysis of National Transit Database, 2021
Chart description: This chart presents the distribution of workers in specific transit modes across occupational categories. Transit employees working with buses account for the majority of operators, vehicle maintenance, and general administration staff, while the majority of employees in the facility maintenance and capital occupational categories work on heavy rail.
Transit Employees by
Service Mode
Source: TWC analysis of National Transit Database, 2021
Chart description: The transit mode that employs by far the most people is bus service (56.7% of transit employees), followed by heavy rail (21.6%).
Current Transit Employee Percentages, Occupation within Mode
Source: TWC analysis of National Transit Database, 2021
Chart description: This chart presents the distribution of workers in different occupational categories across transit modes. A plurality of workers in all modes are operators, except for heavy rail, in which a slightly larger percent are facility maintenance workers. Operators are the majority of employees working in the bus and demand response modes.
Full- and Part-Time Transit Employees by Mode
Source: TWC analysis of National Transit Database, 2021
Chart description: While full-time workers are a significant majority of employees in all modes, part-time workers are a relatively larger share of the demand response workforce (16.4%).
Demographic Characteristics of Workers in Selected Transportation and Related Occupations
This sections uses BLS data to describe the demographic composition of several key transportation and related occupations by race, Hispanic ethnicity, sex, and age. Please note that demographic data are not available for all occupations, and that not all positions within the occupations listed are public transit positions; data are not available at this level of specificity. These charts display data for occupations across the U.S. economy—for example, bus drivers employed by both public transit agencies and intercity coach lines. Charts are ranked alphabetically by category.
Employment by Race
Source: TWC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm, February 27, 2023
Chart description: This chart displays the racial demographic composition of several transportation and related occupations. The bus operator occupation is the most racially diverse of the occupations examined, and has the highest representation of Black or African American workers at 36.6%.
Employment by Hispanic Ethnicity
Source: TWC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm, February 27, 2023
Chart description: This chart illustrates the proportion of Hispanic or Latino workers in several transportation and related occupations. The highest proportion of Hispanic or Latino workers are employed as cleaners of vehicles or equipment (36.4%), while the lowest proportion is among bus operators (12.2%).
Employment of Women
Source: TWC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm, February 27, 2023
Chart description: The percent of employees in these transportation and related occupations who are women is below 40% in each listed occupation, except for dispatchers, of whom 58.9% are women. The occupation with the lowest proportion of female employees is bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, at 1.2%. Women represent 46.8% of workers in all US occupations.
Employment by Age
Source: TWC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation and age. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11b.htm, March 2, 2023
Chart description: This chart shows the distribution of workers by age in several transportation and related occupations. There is substantial variation between occupations. The occupation with the oldest workforce is bus drivers, transit and intercity, with 49.8% over the age of 55, versus 23.6% of all workers.
Employment Trends in Selected Transportation and Related Occupations
This chart displays recent trends in employment levels in a number of transportation and related occupations. This reflects employment of these occupations across all industries, not only public transportation. Proprietary Lightcast data are used due to their suitability for time series analysis. Please note that numbers listed for 2023 and future years are projections of expected employment, and are included to illustrate the expectation of increase growth in transit-related occupations. Please view the next tab for more detailed data about occupational projections.
Source: TWC analysis of Lightcast™ Occupation Data (2023). Retrieved March 6, 2023. More information is available here: https://lightcast.io/resources/blog/strengths-and-weaknesses-of-occupational-employment-statistics-from-the-bls (see “How EMSI Incorporates OES”)
Future Projections of Employment in Selected Transportation and Related Occupations
This section presents BLS estimates for occupational openings due to growth (increased demand for workers) and separations (retirements, transfers to other occupations, or other departures from an occupation or the labor force) in several transportation and related occupations across the economy. Please note that not all positions listed within these occupations are public transit positions, as not all data are available at this level of specificity. The majority of workers employed as operators (bus drivers, transit and intercity, and subway and streetcar operators), are employed in industries associated with public transit (urban transit systems, and local government).
More information about BLS employment projection methodologies is available at this link.
2021 Employment and 2021 to 2031 Total Openings (Ranked by Number of Openings)
Source: TWC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment Projections Data – Table 1.2 Employment by detailed occupation, 2021 and projected 2031; Table 1.10 Occupational separations and openings, projected 2021–31. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/emp/data/occupational-data.htm, December 2, 2022
Chart description: This chart shows the number of workers employed in selected transportation and related occupations in 2021, and the total projected openings in those occupations between 2021 and 2031 (i.e. how many people will need to be hired to keep pace with growth and exits from the occupation). In several key occupations—including bus operators—the projected openings exceed total 2021 employment.
2021 to 2031 Percent Change (Growth)
Source: TWC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment Projections Data – Table 1.2 Employment by detailed occupation, 2021 and projected 2031; Table 1.10 Occupational separations and openings, projected 2021–31. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/emp/data/occupational-data.htm, December 2, 2022
Chart description: This chart shows projected percentage increases in employment in selected transportation and related occupations over ten years. Employment of bus drivers, transit and intercity is projected to increase the most, by 8.2% (though this occupation does not have the largest raw number of new openings projected due to growth). Please note that these percentages represent total, not annual, growth from 2021 – 2031.
2021 to 2031 Openings from Separations and Growth (Ranked by Number of Openings)
Source: TWC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment Projections Data – Table 1.2 Employment by detailed occupation, 2021 and projected 2031; Table 1.10 Occupational separations and openings, projected 2021–31. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/emp/data/occupational-data.htm, December 2, 2022
Chart description: This chart illustrates the fact that 2021-2031 openings (the second, dark grey bar in the chart to the left) are driven by both separations (workers leaving the occupation and/or the workforce) and growth (additional demand for workers in that occupation). In all cases, separations account for the vast majority of projected openings.
2021 to 2031 Annual Separation Rates
Source: TWC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics. Table 1.10 Occupational separations and openings, projected 2021–31. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/emp/data/occupational-data.htm, December 2, 2022
Chart description: This chart shows projected annual separation rates (percent of workers leaving the occupation each year). The highest is bus drivers, transit and intercity, at 13.2%. Please note that these are the projected annual (yearly) separation rates from 2021 to 2031.
Wages, Education, and Training
This section presents NTD and BLS data on wages, education, and training for transit employees and for selected transportation and related occupations.
Average Hourly Transit Employee Wages by Mode
Source: TWC analysis of National Transit Database, 2021
Chart description: This chart displays average wages by transit service mode. Heavy rail and commuter rail employees have the highest average wages at $41.48 per hour and $41.21, respectively. Demand response employees have the lowest average wages, at $21.84 per hour. These data reflect employment in directly operated services at Full Reporter agencies (systems receiving Urbanized Area Formula Grants and operating more than 30 vehicles or either fixed guideway or high intensity busways).
Education and Training Requirements, Educational Attainment, and Wages in Selected Transportation and Related Occupations
| wdt_ID | Occupation | Typical education needed for entry | Typical training needed to attain competency | % with less than high school diploma | % with high school diploma or equivalent | % with some college, no degree | % with an associate's degree or higher | Median hourly wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subway and streetcar operators | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 3.1 | 37.7 | 33.0 | 26.3 | 39.03 |
| 2 | Signal and track switch repairers | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 13.1 | 39.6 | 26.6 | 20.6 | 38.73 |
| 3 | Transportation inspectors | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 5.8 | 27.9 | 30.6 | 35.7 | 38.35 |
| 4 | Locomotive engineers | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 1.6 | 37.6 | 36.5 | 24.2 | 38.34 |
| 5 | Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment | Postsecondary nondegree award | Long-term on-the-job training | 8.3 | 30.1 | 30.8 | 30.8 | 37.14 |
| 6 | Transit and railroad police | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 0.7 | 12.4 | 30.3 | 56.5 | 31.21 |
| 7 | Railroad conductors and yardmasters | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 2.2 | 39.4 | 34.6 | 23.8 | 30.75 |
| 8 | Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 3.1 | 37.7 | 33.0 | 26.3 | 30.69 |
| 9 | Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 9.6 | 54.5 | 27.6 | 8.3 | 29.66 |
| 10 | Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 1.6 | 37.6 | 36.5 | 24.2 | 29.37 |
| 11 | Rail car repairers | High school diploma or equivalent | Long-term on-the-job training | 12.0 | 47.3 | 23.4 | 17.2 | 28.97 |
| 12 | First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers | High school diploma or equivalent | None | 7.0 | 35.6 | 29.6 | 27.7 | 26.37 |
| 13 | Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists | High school diploma or equivalent | Long-term on-the-job training | 13.4 | 46.6 | 23.0 | 17.2 | 23.41 |
| 14 | Bus drivers, transit and intercity | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 8.5 | 42.3 | 28.8 | 20.3 | 23.37 |
| 15 | Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 6.0 | 34.0 | 32.8 | 27.2 | 21.18 |
| 16 | Electronic equipment installers and repairers, motor vehicles | High school diploma or equivalent | Moderate-term on-the-job training | 8.3 | 30.1 | 30.8 | 30.8 | 19.55 |
| 17 | Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks | High school diploma or equivalent | Short-term on-the-job training | 2.5 | 24.5 | 29.9 | 43.1 | 19.18 |
| 18 | Cleaners of vehicles and equipment | No formal educational credential | Short-term on-the-job training | 29.2 | 43.2 | 16.7 | 10.9 | 14.08 |
| Occupation | Typical education needed for entry | Typical training needed to attain competency | % with less than high school diploma | % with high school diploma or equivalent | % with some college, no degree | % with an associate's degree or higher | Median hourly wage |
Source: TWC analysis of:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. Employment Projections – Table 5.3 Educational attainment for workers 25 years and older by detailed occupation, 2018–19; retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/educational-attainment.htm, December 23, 2022.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. Employment Projections – Table 5.4 Education and training assignments by detailed occupation, 2021; retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/education-and-training-by-occupation.htm, December 23, 2022.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistic – May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates; retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000, December 23, 2022.
This table presents BLS data showing the typical education required for entry, distribution of education levels, typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency, and median hourly wage, in a number of transit-related occupations. Median wages range from $14.08 to $39.03 across occupations. Most positions require moderate-term on-the-job training. Most transit positions require a high school diploma or equivalent.