Highway maintenance workers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

95.8k

Average Age

Estimated Job Growth

4.93%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$43,040

Average Male Salary

$43,244

Average Female Salary

$37,949

About

Highway maintenance workers are most often employed by the Construction industry. The average yearly wage for Highway maintenance workers was $43,040 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Highway maintenance workers by wage are Miscellaneous law enforcement workers, Meter readers, utilities, and Automotive service technicians & mechanics.

Highway maintenance workers are part of the Construction & Extraction Occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of construction trades & extraction workers, Boilermakers, Carpenters, Carpet, floor, & tile installers & finishers, Cement masons, concrete finishers, & terrazzo workers, and 28 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Highway maintenance workers are Sherburne & Benton Counties PUMA, MN, Granite City, Alton, Wood River Cities & Godfrey Village PUMA, IL, and Southwest Oklahoma PUMA, OK. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Highway maintenance workers are Southwest Oklahoma PUMA, OK, Sullivan & Ulster (West) Counties PUMA, NY, and Victoria & Calhoun Counties PUMA, TX.

Photo by Rene Schwietzke

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

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Highway maintenance workers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Construction is the industry that employs the most Highway maintenance workers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Highway maintenance workers, by average wage, is Support activities for mining. Highway maintenance workers are paid most in Tazewell County PUMA, IL but are relatively concentrated in Southwest Oklahoma PUMA, OK.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$43,040

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,104

In 2020, Highway maintenance workers earned an average of $43,040, $12,913 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Miscellaneous law enforcement workers make somewhat more than Highway maintenance workers while Automotive service technicians & mechanics make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Highway maintenance workers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.286

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Highway maintenance workers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.286, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Highway maintenance workers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Highway maintenance workers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Highway maintenance workers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Highway maintenance workers.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Highway maintenance workers, by number of employees, are Construction, Services incidental to transportation, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Administration of economic programs & space research, Landscaping services, Other general government & support, National security & international affairs, Architectural, engineering & related services, Support activities for mining, Justice, public order, & safety activities , and Amusement & Recreation.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Highway maintenance workers, by average wage, are Support activities for mining, Amusement & Recreation, and Administration of environmental quality & housing programs.

Industries by Share

95.8k

2020 Workforce

± 7,595

−4.52%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 11.6%

The number of people employed as Highway maintenance workers has been declining at a rate of −4.52%, from 100,288 people in 2019 to 95,759 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Highway maintenance workers employed by various industries. Construction employs the largest share of Highway maintenance workers at 89.2%, followed by Services incidental to transportation with 3.26% and Executive offices & legislative bodies with 2.68%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Highway maintenance workers in the US. The average age of male Highway maintenance workers in the workforce is 44.1 and of female Highway maintenance workers is 41.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Highway maintenance workers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

92.1k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 7,447

3.69k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 1,491

96.1% of Highway maintenance workers are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Highway maintenance workers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Highway maintenance workers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

73.9% of Highway maintenance workers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 9.5% of Highway maintenance workers, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Highway maintenance workers.

Age by Sex

44.1

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.07

41.3

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 5.43

The median age of Highway maintenance workers is 44, and Male employees are generally 2.83 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Highway maintenance workers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Highway maintenance workers is Business but a relatively high number of Highway maintenance workers hold a major in Natural Resources & Conservation.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Highway maintenance workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Highway maintenance workers need many skills, but most especially Operation and Control, Coordination, and Operation Monitoring. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Highway maintenance workers need more than the average amount of Repairing, Operation and Control, and Equipment Maintenance.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Highway Maintenance Workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Highway Maintenance Workers are expected to see a growth of 4.93% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

4.93%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Highway Maintenance Workers. This profession is expected to grow more than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.