---
title: "Traffic Technician"
description: "Conduct field studies to determine traffic volume, speed, effectiveness of signals, adequacy of lighting, and other factors influencing traffic…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/traffic-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Traffic Technician

**Category:** Transportation and Material Moving · **SOC code:** 53-6041 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 53-6041.00

Conduct field studies to determine traffic volume, speed, effectiveness of signals, adequacy of lighting, and other factors influencing traffic conditions, under direction of traffic engineer.

Also advertised as: Field Traffic Investigator; Traffic Control Technician (Traffic Control Tech); Traffic Field Investigator; Traffic Investigator; Traffic Monitor Specialist; Traffic Signal Technician (TST); Traffic Survey Technician (Traffic Survey Tech); Traffic Systems Technician (Traffic Systems Tech).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $59,090 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $28.41/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $39,090 to $85,130, with the middle half between $46,440 and $75,850
- **Total US employment:** 7,860
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +4.0% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 900 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 30/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 7,860 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $39,090 |
| 25th | $46,440 |
| 50th (median) | $59,090 |
| 75th | $75,850 |
| 90th | $85,130 |
| Mean (average) | $62,050 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $79,110 | $71,451 | 1,250 |
| MN | $77,810 | $78,898 | 60 |
| WA | $71,960 | $67,244 | 70 |
| NY | $71,670 | $66,410 | 950 |
| IN | $71,000 | $76,075 | 120 |
| IL | $70,970 | $71,000 | 40 |
| IA | $68,100 | $77,596 | 30 |
| PA | $65,610 | $67,243 | 60 |
| NJ | $64,240 | $59,041 | 110 |
| MA | $63,780 | $60,308 | 90 |
| VA | $62,270 | $61,590 | 90 |
| UT | $61,970 | $62,682 | 30 |
| OH | $61,460 | $66,247 | 210 |
| NE | $61,380 | $68,122 | 40 |
| OK | $60,750 | $69,157 | 90 |

21 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 36 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/traffic-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/traffic-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 8,100 in the 2025–2035 base year to 8,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 300 jobs, or +4.0%. About as fast as average: 4.0% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 900 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 42.9% |
| Some College Courses | 23.2% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 12.5% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 11.7% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 9.8% |

## What the work involves

- Prepare work orders for repair, maintenance, or changes in traffic systems.
- Interact with the public to answer traffic-related questions, respond to complaints or requests, or discuss traffic control ordinances, plans, policies, or procedures.
- Study traffic delays by noting times of delays, the numbers of vehicles affected, and vehicle speed through the delay area.
- Gather and compile data from hand count sheets, machine count tapes, or radar speed checks and code data for computer input.
- Study factors affecting traffic conditions, such as lighting or sign and marking visibility, to assess their effectiveness.
- Analyze data related to traffic flow, accident rates, or proposed development to determine the most efficient methods to expedite traffic flow.
- Measure and record the speed of vehicular traffic, using electrical timing devices or radar equipment.
- Operate counters and record data to assess the volume, type, and movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic at specified times.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Management of Personnel Resources — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Law and Government — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Inductive Reasoning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 4.87 |
| C — Conventional | 4.47 |
| I — Investigative | 4.38 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.96 |
| S — Social | 1.93 |
| A — Artistic | 1.40 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 94.5 |
| ISTP | 80.4 |
| INTJ | 77.3 |
| ISFJ | 73.3 |
| ESTJ | 73.0 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Civil Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $64,950
- [Construction and Building Inspector](https://nuecareer.com/careers/construction-and-building-inspector) — median $74,690
- [Air Traffic Controller](https://nuecareer.com/careers/air-traffic-controller) — median $148,080
- [Railroad Conductor and Yardmaster](https://nuecareer.com/careers/railroad-conductor-and-yardmaster) — median $78,000
- [Highway Maintenance Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/highway-maintenance-worker) — median $50,260
- [Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspector, Except Aviation](https://nuecareer.com/careers/transportation-vehicle-equipment-and-systems-inspector) — median $92,100
- [Locomotive Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/locomotive-engineer) — median $81,410
- [Surveying and Mapping Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surveying-and-mapping-technician) — median $54,240
- [Power Distributor and Dispatcher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/power-distributor-and-dispatcher) — median $106,730
- [Aviation Inspector](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aviation-inspector) — median $92,100

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/traffic-technician