What North Dakota Oilfield Jobs Pay — Real Bakken Wages From Real Postings

Q: What is the highest paying oilfield job in North Dakota?

Among seats that print pay, plant and compression operators posted $33.65-50.96/hr and field service and I&E techs posted $62-128K/yr at senior level. Crude haulers on percentage of load reached $135K/yr.

The Bakken Pay Index

Employer-posted figures only · N = how many postings each range rests on

Role	What it posted	N
Roustabout	$18–38/hr	7	Full breakdown →
Swamper	$23–28/hr	2	Full breakdown →
Crude hauler	$475–575/day, or $80–140K/yr	10
Water hauler	$24–37/hr, or ~$2,500/wk	13
Winch truck & heavy haul	$25–35/hr	6	Full breakdown →
Hot oil operator	$25–34/hr	10
Vac / hydrovac operator	$30–38/hr	9
Field service / I&E tech	$62–128K/yr	11
Plant / compression operator	$33.65–50.96/hr	9
Diesel & heavy duty mechanic	$25–50/hr	8	Full breakdown →
Lease operator / pumper	$26–40/hr	9
Frac operator	$20–35/hr, or $85–135K/yr	7
Pipeline operator	$58–94K/yr	7
Hotshot driver	$25–33/hr	6
Flatbed / pipe haul	$28–38/hr	5
Floorhand	$23–39/hr	5
Derrickhand	$34–41/hr	4

Ranges span green hand to crew lead. A roustabout starting at $18 and a roustabout foreman at $42 are the same row because they are the same ladder. The role pages break each one into rungs.

The Jobs We Will Not Put A Number On

Some seats in this basin almost never print pay. We would rather tell you that than make something up.

Frac sand hauler ... posts percentage of load instead of a wage, almost every time
Wireline and slickline ... 2 postings with a number in six months
Dispatcher ... 1
Slick truck ... usually posted as a generic CDL seat, so the number gets buried
Water transfer ... 2
Driller and toolpusher ... nearly always DOE
Permit specialist ... zero, and in most outfits it is folded into dispatch rather than being its own seat at all

These get pages too. They just will not carry a pay figure until enough employers print one.

Why These Numbers Are Different

Search what a roustabout makes and you will get a national average built by blending North Dakota with Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. That number describes nowhere. It is useless for deciding whether to take a job in Watford City.

Three rules on every number here:

Every pay figure is Bakken only. No national blend, no other basin averaged in. A wage that mixes Williston with Midland describes nowhere.
Employer-printed only. If the posting said DOE, competitive, or negotiable, it does not count. Job sites also generate their own estimated salary ranges. Those are modeled, not real, and none are used here.
The count is shown. Every range says how many postings it rests on. A number built on 13 postings and a number built on 2 are not the same thing and you deserve to see which you are looking at.

For context, the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the all occupations mean wage for the West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area at $29.27/hr (May 2023, OEWS). Government data runs about two years behind. These postings are from this year.

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Common Questions

What is the highest paying oilfield job in North Dakota?

Among seats that actually print pay, plant and compression operators posted the highest hourly at $33.65–50.96/hr, and field service and I&E techs posted $62–128K/yr at senior level. Crude haulers on percentage of load reached $135K/yr.

What oilfield job pays the most with no experience?

Roustabout and swamper both take hands with no experience and no CDL, starting around $18–28/hr in the Bakken. Roustabout climbs to $35–42/hr as a foreman without ever needing a license.

Do you need a CDL for oilfield work in North Dakota?

Not for roustabout, swamper, floorhand, derrickhand, mechanic or most field tech seats. You do need one for every hauling seat, and a Class A typically moves a hand from the low twenties into the $26–40/hr range.

Where do these pay numbers come from?

Real North Dakota job postings from March through August 2026, collected through our weekly Bakken jobs board. Only figures printed by the employer are counted. Estimated salaries generated by job sites are excluded.

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