Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers · SOC 51-8093
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugerss
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (4 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 49 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $117,660 | 870 | 0.4 |
| 2 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $111,370 | 620 | 0.1 |
| 3 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $109,390 | 120 | 0.1 |
| 4 | Baton Rouge, LA | $108,420 | 660 | 1.6 |
| 5 | Toledo, OH | $107,520 | 320 | 1.1 |
| 6 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | $107,490 | 1,560 | 3.5 |
| 7 | Wichita, KS | $107,260 | 370 | 1.2 |
| 8 | Tulsa, OK | $107,170 | 570 | 1.2 |
| 9 | Ogden, UT | $105,980 | 430 | 1.6 |
| 10 | Bellingham, WA | $105,640 | 380 | 4.2 |
| 11 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $105,580 | 590 | 0.2 |
| 12 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $104,540 | 340 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $103,250 | 1,700 | 0.3 |
| 14 | Billings, MT | $103,110 | 380 | 4.1 |
| 15 | Vallejo, CA | $103,040 | 130 | 0.9 |
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $101,910 | 450 | 0.2 |
| 17 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $101,600 | 50 | 0.0 |
| 18 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $100,660 | 1,480 | 9.1 |
| 19 | Casper, WY | $99,500 | 120 | 3.0 |
| 20 | Kansas City, MO-KS | $98,770 | 80 | 0.1 |
| 21 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $97,530 | 240 | 0.7 |
| 22 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $97,210 | 50 | 0.1 |
| 23 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $96,730 | 120 | 0.2 |
| 24 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $94,900 | 270 | 0.6 |
| 25 | Greeley, CO | $93,750 | 40 | 0.3 |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.