TradeSalary

Heavy equipment operator salary in New Haven, CT

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Heavy equipment operators in the New Haven, CT area earn a median of $79,840 a year, or $38.38 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $107,290. That's 1% more than the Connecticut median of $78,750.

Median yearly pay$79,840
Bottom 10% under$61,580Top 10% over$107,290
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$29.60/hr
Jobs in this area
450
After cost of living
$76,360
Median hourly pay
$38.38/hr
vs U.S. median
+33%
vs Connecticut median
+1%
Mean (average) pay
$85,070 a year · $40.90 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 35300, New Haven, CT). Excludes self-employed heavy equipment operators. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What heavy equipment operators in New Haven, CT earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$29.60$61,580
25th percentile$32.92$68,470
Median (50th)$38.38$79,840
75th percentile$50.03$104,060
90th percentile$51.58$107,290

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How New Haven, CT compares

  • New Haven ranks 2nd of 5 Connecticut metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
  • Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the New Haven area than nationally: 1.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.52 times the U.S. share.

Other Connecticut metro areas

Other trades in New Haven, CT

Questions

Do heavy equipment operators make more in New Haven or Bridgeport?
Bridgeport pays more: the median is $79,840 in New Haven and $82,250 in Bridgeport, a 3% difference.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 47-2073 (Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators), area code 35300 (New Haven, CT). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed heavy equipment operators and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (104.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures