Construction equipment operators

Detailed Occupation

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2024 Workforce

383k

Average Age

43.2

Average Salary

$63,443

Average Male Salary

$63,852

Average Female Salary

$48,537

About

Construction equipment operators are most often employed by the Construction industry. The average yearly wage for Construction equipment operators was $63,443 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Construction equipment operators are Matanuska-Susitna & Kenai Peninsula Boroughs PUMA, AK, Rural Nevada PUMA, NV, and Southwest & South Central Utah (Outside Washington County)--Cedar City PUMA, UT. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Construction equipment operators are Houston City (North) & Aldine--Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX, Jackson, Nicholas, Roane, Braxton, Clay, Gilmer, Calhoun Counties PUMA, WV, and Kentucky River Area Development District PUMA, KY.

Natural resources, construction, & maintenance occupations Construction & Extraction Occupations

Employment and salary information for the Construction equipment operators workforce. Construction equipment operators workforce in 2024 was 383,145 people, of which 2.67% were women and 97.3% were men.

Construction equipment operators are paid most in Ada County (Central)--Meridian (Northeast) & Boise (Far West) Cities PUMA, ID but are relatively concentrated in Houston City (North) & Aldine--Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

372,919

Male Workforce

± 15k

10,226

Female Workforce

± 2.48k

The Construction equipment operators workforce in 2024 was 383,145 people (2.67% women and 97.3% men). This implies an average annual growth of 11% between 2018 (345,226) and 2024 (383,145).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Construction equipment operators.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were New Jersey ($95,440), Alaska ($90,484), and Illinois ($83,955).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$63,443

AVERAGE WAGE

#234 in the ranking (2018)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Construction equipment operators earned an average of $63,443, $6,435 less than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Construction equipment operators in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2018.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.307

WAGE GINI

In 2024, Construction equipment operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.307, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Construction equipment operators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Construction equipment operators compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Construction equipment operators and on wages for those in the field. Construction is the industry that employs the most Construction equipment operators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Construction equipment operators, by average wage, is Lessors of real estate, and offices of real estate agents and brokers ($125,448).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

383k

2024 Workforce

± 15,178

0.0131%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.6%

This graphic shows the share of Construction equipment operators employed by various industries. Construction employs the largest share of Construction equipment operators at 92.7%, followed by Waste management & remediation services with 3.38% and Nonmetallic mineral mining & quarrying with 2.46%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Construction equipment operators in the US. The workforce of Construction equipment operators in 2024 was 383,145 people, with 2.67% woman, and 97.3% men. The average age of male Construction equipment operators in the workforce is 43.2 and of female Construction equipment operators is 43.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Construction equipment operators is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Construction equipment operators in 2024 was 383,145 people, with 2.67% woman, and 97.3% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 50 to 54 years (43,429 people), 25 to 29 years (42,745 people), and 55 to 59 years (42,347 people). Among them they concentrated 33.6% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 21.1% of Construction equipment operators workers were Hispanic and 78.9% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (69.3%), Puerto Rican (8.75)%, and All Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (4.72)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2024, 71.1% of the Construction equipment operators workforce were White, of which 2.33% were women and 97.7% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Two or More Races (12%) and Other (8.23%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Construction equipment operators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Construction equipment operators is Business but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Construction.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Construction equipment operators in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (3,280 people), Engineering (1,905 people), and Protective Services (732 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Construction equipment operators workers were High School or Equivalent (206,254 people), Some college (69,941 people), and Secondary Education (49,020 people).

The graphic shows the Construction equipment operators workforce by gender and educational level.