How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Dover, DE?

The median hourly wage is $23.49. The middle half earn between $21.38 and $28.71 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Dover, DE?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $18.80 an hour ($39,090 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $21.38.

Do heavy equipment operators make more in Dover or Philadelphia?

Philadelphia pays more: the median is $48,860 in Dover and $66,810 in Philadelphia, a 27% difference.

How does Dover pay compare with the rest of Delaware?

The Dover median of $48,860 is 16% less than the Delaware median of $58,020.

Heavy equipment operator salary in Dover, DE

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Heavy equipment operators in the Dover, DE area earn a median of $48,860 a year, or $23.49 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $80,730. That's 16% less than the Delaware median of $58,020.

Median yearly pay$48,860

Bottom 10% under$39,090Top 10% over$80,730

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $18.80/hr
Jobs in this area: 190
After cost of living: $50,110
Median hourly pay: $23.49/hr
vs U.S. median: −18%
vs Delaware median: −16%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 20100, Dover, DE). 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.

Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay

Stage	Yearly pay	Hourly pay
Apprentice / entry level	$39,090–$44,470$18.80–$21.38/hr
Experienced operator	$48,860$23.49/hr
Top earners	$59,710–$80,730$28.71–$38.81/hr

Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.

How Dover, DE compares

Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the Dover area than nationally: 2.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.90 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $80,730, is 2.1 times the 10th-percentile wage, $39,090: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Delaware metro areas

Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington$66,810

Other trades in Dover, DE

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Auto mechanic

Questions

How much do heavy equipment operators make in Dover, DE?: Heavy equipment operators in the Dover, DE area earn a median of $48,860 a year, or $23.49 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $80,730.
How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Dover, DE?: The median hourly wage is $23.49. The middle half earn between $21.38 and $28.71 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Dover, DE?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $18.80 an hour ($39,090 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $21.38.
Do heavy equipment operators make more in Dover or Philadelphia?: Philadelphia pays more: the median is $48,860 in Dover and $66,810 in Philadelphia, a 27% difference.
How does Dover pay compare with the rest of Delaware?: The Dover median of $48,860 is 16% less than the Delaware median of $58,020.

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 20100 (Dover, DE). 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 (97.5, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures