Pile Driver Operators
Median $73,300
Occupation · SOC 47-2071
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: pay and where the jobs are
What paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$53,340 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $59,000
- Median hourly wage
- $25.64
- Mean hourly wage
- $28.37
- Employment
- 41,820
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 47-2071.
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How much do paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators make?
The median annual wage for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators was $53,340 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $38,230 and the highest-paid 10% more than $92,230. As an hourly rate, the median is $25.64. About 41,820 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Hawaii ($111,360), District of Columbia ($91,280) and Washington ($90,530). Hawaii also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,230 | $18.38 | $3,186 | $2,741 |
| 25th percentile | $45,610 | $21.93 | $3,801 | $3,236 |
| Median | $53,340 | $25.64 | $4,445 | $3,753 |
| 75th percentile | $64,720 | $31.12 | $5,393 | $4,515 |
| 90th percentile | $92,230 | $44.34 | $7,686 | $6,143 |
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: pay by state
51 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$72,871 take-home in national prices
2
$66,592 take-home in national prices
3
$65,764 take-home in national prices
Where a median paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operator paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | Not published | $111,360 | $51,230 | $123,990 | $80,122 | $72,871 |
| District of Columbia | 70 | $91,280 | $61,550 | $91,280 | $68,255 | $62,106 |
| Washington | 530 | $90,530 | $58,860 | $118,760 | $71,262 | $66,592 |
| Alaska | 80 | $83,520 | $60,670 | $100,260 | $67,315 | $65,764 |
| California | 1,400 | $83,130 | $56,980 | $130,120 | $62,745 | $56,670 |
| Connecticut | Not published | $77,480 | $60,400 | $101,120 | $59,438 | $57,367 |
| Idaho | 130 | $73,210 | $49,780 | $112,730 | $57,561 | $60,277 |
| Illinois | 950 | $73,060 | $46,800 | $102,720 | $56,756 | $56,780 |
| Missouri | 1,560 | $69,400 | $42,410 | $98,560 | $55,328 | $60,923 |
| Wisconsin | 960 | $69,020 | $37,440 | $92,150 | $54,797 | $58,236 |
| Minnesota | 830 | $68,180 | $50,310 | $99,920 | $53,382 | $54,128 |
| Oregon | 520 | $63,310 | $55,490 | $103,330 | $48,441 | $46,866 |
| Rhode Island | 160 | $63,060 | $48,390 | $85,530 | $50,407 | $49,284 |
| New York | 4,530 | $62,760 | $48,450 | $104,350 | $49,513 | $45,879 |
| New Hampshire | 260 | $62,080 | $49,240 | $80,800 | $52,061 | $49,980 |
| Iowa | Not published | $61,110 | $52,360 | $65,070 | $49,612 | $56,530 |
| Massachusetts | 560 | $60,950 | $37,300 | $81,560 | $48,045 | $45,430 |
| Maryland | 750 | $60,530 | $47,000 | $93,430 | $48,307 | $46,024 |
| Ohio | 2,370 | $60,280 | $38,050 | $93,160 | $49,401 | $53,249 |
| South Dakota | 130 | $60,140 | $49,220 | $74,660 | $50,502 | $57,010 |
| Colorado | 920 | $58,810 | $43,610 | $72,650 | $47,296 | $45,895 |
| Wyoming | 160 | $58,080 | $49,290 | $73,440 | $48,847 | $52,699 |
| Maine | 250 | $57,020 | $45,650 | $89,100 | $45,539 | $46,924 |
| Pennsylvania | 520 | $56,010 | $44,320 | $75,400 | $45,425 | $46,556 |
| Montana | 260 | $55,920 | $36,510 | $78,350 | $45,240 | $47,800 |
| Vermont | 70 | $54,830 | $49,920 | $62,060 | $44,833 | $45,767 |
| Michigan | 1,720 | $54,220 | $38,510 | $74,360 | $43,692 | $45,410 |
| Delaware | 150 | $54,020 | $31,200 | $83,200 | $43,048 | $43,131 |
| Arizona | 170 | $52,140 | $47,270 | $75,740 | $43,165 | $42,874 |
| Nevada | Not published | $51,400 | $38,610 | $79,140 | $43,480 | $43,489 |
| West Virginia | 210 | $51,230 | $41,130 | $77,920 | $41,847 | $46,758 |
| New Jersey | 840 | $50,500 | $42,300 | $72,890 | $41,112 | $37,785 |
| Indiana | 910 | $50,380 | $39,630 | $91,350 | $41,204 | $44,149 |
| Kansas | 540 | $49,070 | $40,150 | $70,670 | $39,669 | $44,044 |
| Utah | 410 | $48,860 | $45,240 | $70,840 | $39,832 | $40,290 |
| Louisiana | 350 | $48,450 | $37,440 | $73,180 | $40,042 | $45,396 |
| Virginia | 1,660 | $48,060 | $38,130 | $60,410 | $38,847 | $38,423 |
| North Carolina | 1,940 | $47,820 | $37,860 | $61,310 | $39,204 | $41,562 |
| Texas | 3,940 | $47,060 | $37,280 | $61,660 | $39,993 | $41,205 |
| South Carolina | 630 | $46,950 | $38,050 | $57,760 | $39,107 | $41,715 |
| Florida | 2,740 | $46,840 | $37,910 | $60,780 | $39,816 | $38,501 |
| Oklahoma | 550 | $46,760 | $36,620 | $58,910 | $38,193 | $43,479 |
| Georgia | 1,270 | $46,100 | $37,870 | $59,130 | $37,669 | $39,120 |
| New Mexico | 990 | $45,880 | $37,130 | $60,180 | $38,039 | $41,252 |
| Nebraska | 390 | $45,760 | $39,340 | $63,260 | $37,746 | $41,892 |
| Kentucky | 110 | $45,660 | $29,540 | $64,600 | $37,387 | $41,468 |
| Arkansas | 490 | $44,010 | $35,890 | $50,650 | $36,401 | $41,871 |
| Tennessee | 1,730 | $42,510 | $36,300 | $60,300 | $36,337 | $39,552 |
| Alabama | 700 | $41,880 | $31,990 | $58,140 | $34,119 | $38,412 |
| Mississippi | 470 | $37,030 | $30,250 | $51,280 | $31,184 | $35,864 |
| Puerto Rico | 230 | $29,460 | $26,980 | $35,960 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 47-2071. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.