Construction equipment operators

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

359k

Average Age

43.6

Average Salary

$53,455

Average Male Salary

$53,668

Average Female Salary

$45,240

About

Construction equipment operators are most often employed by the Construction industry. The average yearly wage for Construction equipment operators was $53,455 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Construction equipment operators by wage are Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators, Electrical & electronics repairers, transportation equipment, & industrial & utility, and Surveying & mapping technicians.

Construction equipment operators 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 Construction equipment operators are Rural Nevada PUMA, NV, Alamo Area COG (Southwest) PUMA, TX, and Minot City PUMA, ND. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Construction equipment operators are Panhandle & Northwest Oklahoma PUMA, OK, Alamo Area COG (Southwest) PUMA, TX, and Highlands (South & East), Okeechobee, Hendry & Glades Counties PUMA, FL.

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Construction equipment operators and on wages and locations 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 Oil & gas extraction. Construction equipment operators are paid most in Jackson City (East & Central) PUMA, MS but are relatively concentrated in Panhandle & Northwest Oklahoma PUMA, OK.

Yearly Wage

$53,455

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,428

In 2020, Construction equipment operators earned an average of $53,455, $2,499 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Electrical & electronics repairers, transportation equipment, & industrial & utility make somewhat more than Construction equipment operators while Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Construction equipment operators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.296

WAGE GINI

In 2019, Construction equipment operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.296, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Construction equipment operators (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 Construction equipment operators.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Construction equipment operators

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Construction equipment operators.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Construction equipment operators, by number of employees, are Construction, Waste management & remediation services, Nonmetallic mineral mining & quarrying, Coal mining, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Support activities for mining, Logging, Electric power generation, transmission & distribution, Water, steam, air-conditioning, & irrigation systems, Metal ore mining, and Landscaping services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Construction equipment operators, by average wage, are Oil & gas extraction, Petroleum refining, and Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing.

Industries by Share

359k

2020 Workforce

± 14,694

1.83%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.71%

The number of people employed as Construction equipment operators has been growing at a rate of 1.83%, from 352,626 people in 2019 to 359,074 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Construction equipment operators employed by various industries. Construction employs the largest share of Construction equipment operators at 78.1%, followed by Waste management & remediation services with 2.49% and Nonmetallic mineral mining & quarrying with 2.3%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Construction equipment operators in the US. The average age of male Construction equipment operators in the workforce is 43.6 and of female Construction equipment operators is 43.6, and the most common race/ethnicity for Construction equipment operators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

350k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 14,508

9.07k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,337

97.5% of Construction equipment operators are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Construction equipment operators.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Construction equipment operators

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

70.8% of Construction equipment operators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.3% of Construction equipment operators, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Construction equipment operators.

Age by Sex

43.6

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.553

43.6

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 3.45

The median age of Construction equipment operators is 43.6, and Male employees are generally 0.0384 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

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 a relatively high number of Construction equipment operators hold a major in Construction.