Highest-paying Cities for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

The top 100 highest paying cities for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $103,730, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California is the highest paying city for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators. It is followed by Urban Honolulu, Hawaii (average annual salary $102,750). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$103,730	$58,260	3,760
2	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$102,750	$50,760	1,040
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$101,970	$57,830	1,180
4	Decatur, Illinois	$100,370	$51,260	310
5	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$96,900	$47,520	230
6	Bloomington, Illinois	$94,600	$43,160	140
7	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$94,350	$47,310	7,950
8	Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts	$90,140	$56,970	310
9	Champaign-Urbana, Illinois	$89,640	$47,080	180
10	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$88,750	$50,750	4,330
11	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$87,990	$49,370	5,390
12	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$87,220	$59,460	3,740
13	Rockford, Illinois	$84,480	$46,730	290
14	Stockton, California	$84,100	$49,900	650
15	Springfield, Illinois	$83,780	$45,200	210
16	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$83,390	$54,680	4,200
17	Peoria, Illinois	$83,010	$40,700	420
18	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$82,500	$43,820	630
19	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$82,480	$51,630	2,810
20	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$81,810	$56,180	600
21	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$81,760	$53,500	530
22	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$81,640	$46,340	3,390
23	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$81,530	$45,310	770
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$81,350	$49,310	7,500
25	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$81,240	$51,850	2,750
26	Nantucket Island and Marthas Vineyard nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$80,980	$41,400	170
27	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$80,150	$59,810	240
28	East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$80,140	$39,990	440
29	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$80,070	$51,830	11,200
30	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$79,880	$59,240	700
31	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$79,480	$52,180	2,800
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$79,380	$49,230	4,880
33	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$79,310	$45,840	1,800
34	Modesto, California	$79,250	$49,650	460
35	Kankakee-Bradley, Illinois	$79,240	$47,260	120
36	Honolulu, Hawaii	$79,200	$46,220	870
37	Gary, Indiana	$78,880	$42,910	850
38	Fresno, California	$78,800	$50,960	900
39	Carbondale-Marion, Illinois	$78,420	$48,190	200
40	South Bend-Mishawaka, Michigan	$78,360	$41,080	260
41	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$77,780	$48,590	4,120
42	Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa	$77,480	$41,000	460
43	New Haven, Connecticut	$77,060	$53,020	540
44	Bellingham, Washington	$76,970	$56,250	240
45	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$76,750	$47,920	660
46	Napa, California	$76,590	$48,270	130
47	St Louis, Missouri	$76,480	$42,560	3,500
48	Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$76,220	$42,830	490
49	Danbury, Connecticut	$76,140	$57,710	210
50	Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$75,570	$49,000	2,340
51	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$75,120	$45,120	2,970
52	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$74,970	$50,550	920
53	Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area, Connecticut	$74,950	$45,810	120
54	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$74,700	$48,910	460
55	Waterbury, Connecticut	$74,390	$46,150	90
56	Columbia, Missouri	$74,000	$39,330	180
57	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$73,650	$52,080	1,810
58	Tacoma, Washington	$72,980	$53,100	810
59	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$72,940	$50,390	260
60	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$72,730	$51,910	210
61	Danville, Illinois	$72,450	$39,750	80
62	Olympia, Washington	$71,940	$49,970	140
63	Camden, New Jersey	$71,900	$50,900	650
64	Rochester, Minnesota	$71,470	$52,320	280
65	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$71,030	$48,610	340
66	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$70,960	$50,530	340
67	Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey	$70,360	$50,480	130
68	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$70,180	$48,530	1,050
69	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$70,140	$41,810	1,990
70	Worcester, Massachusetts	$70,070	$49,180	750
71	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$69,370	$54,770	160
72	Akron, Ohio	$68,870	$46,310	730
73	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$68,850	$52,670	260
74	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$68,780	$45,050	2,350
75	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$67,810	$41,770	2,930
76	Salinas, California	$67,770	$50,100	250
77	Northeastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$67,600	$41,020	2,050
78	Anchorage, Alaska	$67,550	$49,780	940
79	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$67,540	$51,860	410
80	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$67,340	$48,170	180
81	Battle Creek, Michigan	$67,270	$46,330	100
82	Appleton, Wisconsin	$67,190	$48,510	620
83	Fairbanks, Alaska	$67,180	$52,580	350
84	Mankato-North Mankato, Minnesota	$67,080	$51,430	130
85	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$67,080	$49,640	210
86	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$66,830	$46,950	3,280
87	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$66,740	$51,540	5,440
88	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$66,580	$51,230	460
89	North Central Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$66,390	$42,210	50
90	Wausau, Wisconsin	$66,270	$48,800	200
91	Green Bay, Wisconsin	$66,240	$46,200	330
92	Racine, Wisconsin	$66,220	$48,290	260
93	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$65,960	$51,400	1,020
94	St Cloud, Minnesota	$65,630	$46,470	400
95	Railbelt-Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$65,240	$49,310	1,420
96	Spokane, Washington	$65,230	$47,740	620
97	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$64,970	$50,140	160
98	Chico, California	$64,810	$46,370	160
99	Bay City, Michigan	$64,760	$36,570	160
100	Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, New Hampshire	$64,730	$44,360	330

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators.