Highway maintenance workers

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2019 Workforce

98.9k

Average Age

42.8

Estimated Job Growth

6.87%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$42,103

Average Male Salary

$42,451

Average Female Salary

$36,091

About

Highway maintenance workers are most often employed by the Construction industry. The average yearly wage for Highway maintenance workers was $42,103 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Highway maintenance workers by wage are Other machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, Insurance claims & policy processing clerks, and Miscellaneous office & administrative support workers, including desktop publishers.

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 Sauk & Columbia Counties PUMA, WI, Northeast Missouri PUMA, MO, and Northwest Missouri PUMA, MO. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Highway maintenance workers are Sauk & Columbia Counties PUMA, WI, Northeast Missouri PUMA, MO, and Northwest Missouri PUMA, MO.

Photo by Rene Schwietzke

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

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 Architectural, engineering & related services. Highway maintenance workers are paid most in Litchfield County PUMA, CT but are relatively concentrated in Sauk & Columbia Counties PUMA, WI.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$42,103

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,611

In 2019, Highway maintenance workers earned an average of $42,103, $13,421 less than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Other machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic make somewhat more than Highway maintenance workers while Miscellaneous office & administrative support workers, including desktop publishers 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

0.28

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Highway maintenance workers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.28, 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, Executive offices & legislative bodies, and Services incidental to transportation.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Highway maintenance workers, by average wage, are Administration of economic programs & space research, Architectural, engineering & related services, Services incidental to transportation, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Administration of economic programs & space research, Services incidental to transportation, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Other general government & support, Administration of economic programs & space research, Administration of economic programs & space research, Construction, Construction, Services incidental to transportation, Construction, Construction, Other general government & support, Executive offices & legislative bodies, and Executive offices & legislative bodies.

Industries by Share

98.9k

2019 Workforce

± 7,719

5.68%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 10.6%

The number of people employed as Highway maintenance workers has been growing at a rate of 5.68%, from 93,607 people in 2018 to 98,926 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Highway maintenance workers employed by various industries. Construction employs the largest share of Highway maintenance workers at 88.3%, followed by Executive offices & legislative bodies with 4.27% and Services incidental to transportation with 2.81%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Highway maintenance workers in the US. The average age of male Highway maintenance workers in the workforce is 42.9 and of female Highway maintenance workers is 39.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Highway maintenance workers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

93.5k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 7,505

5.42k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 1,807

94.5% of Highway maintenance workers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Highway maintenance workers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Highway maintenance workers

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

70.8% of Highway maintenance workers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 12.4% 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 Gender

42.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.08

39.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 4.46

The median age of Highway maintenance workers is 42.8, and Male employees are generally 3.2 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 Protective Services.

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

Growth Projections

Projections on wages and job growth for Highway maintenance workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ten-year national workforce is projected to grow 6.85%, but Highway maintenance workers are expected to see a growth of 6.87% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow higher than the national average.

Job Growth

6.87%

ESTIMATED GROWTH

6.85%

NATIONAL AVERAGE

This line chart shows the 10-year projected employment growth (from 2018 to 2028) for Highway maintenance workers. This profession is expected to grow faster than 6.85%, the average rate of national job growth.