Heavy equipment operator salary in Florida
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in Florida earn a median of $49,400 a year, or $23.75 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $64,020 a year. Nationally the median is $59,850, so Florida pays 17% less than the U.S. overall and ranks 44th of 51.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $18.66/hr
- Jobs in Florida
- 27,510
- After cost of living
- $47,770
- Median hourly pay
- $23.75/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −17%
- Rank among states
- 44th of 51
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $38,820–$46,330$18.66–$22.27/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $49,400$23.75/hr | |
| Top earners | $58,360–$64,020$28.06–$30.78/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
Pay over time
The median heavy equipment operator wage in Florida rose 27.5%, from $38,740 in May 2021 to $49,400 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 6.8%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $38,740 | $18.62/hr |
| May 2022 | $45,220 | $21.74/hr |
| May 2023 | $47,260 | $22.72/hr |
| May 2024 | $48,780 | $23.45/hr |
| May 2025 | $49,400 | $23.75/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How Florida compares
- Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in Florida than nationally: 2.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.90 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $64,020, is 1.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $38,820: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Pay by metro area
- Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach$51,800
- Naples–Marco Island$51,040
- Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford$51,020
- Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater$50,300
- Sebastian–Vero Beach–West Vero Corridor$49,710
- North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota$49,460
- Cape Coral–Fort Myers$49,330
- Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville$49,140
See all Florida metro areas
- Jacksonville$48,920
- Punta Gorda$48,860
- Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin$48,640
- Panama City–Panama City Beach$48,620
- Port St. Lucie$48,600
- Gainesville$48,190
- Lakeland–Winter Haven$47,900
- Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent$47,860
- Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach$46,950
- Sebring$46,760
- Tallahassee$46,530
- Ocala$46,500
- Wildwood–The Villages$46,060
- Homosassa Springs$45,650
Rural Florida
- South Florida$47,830
- North Florida$47,220
Other trades in Florida
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in Florida?
- Heavy equipment operators in Florida earn a median of $49,400 a year, or $23.75 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $64,020 a year.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Florida?
- The median hourly wage is $23.75. The middle half earn between $22.27 and $28.06 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Florida?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $18.66 an hour ($38,820 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.27.
- Has heavy equipment operator pay gone up in Florida?
- The median heavy equipment operator wage in Florida rose 27.5%, from $38,740 in May 2021 to $49,400 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 6.8%. (BLS wage data and Consumer Price Index.)
- Where in Florida do heavy equipment operators earn the most?
- Among Florida metro areas, Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach has the highest median at $51,800 a year, and Homosassa Springs the lowest at $45,650.
- Do heavy equipment operators in Florida earn more than the national average?
- The Florida median of $49,400 is 17% less than the U.S. median of $59,850. Prices in Florida run 3% above the national average (BEA), so the median buys about what $47,770 would nationally.
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 12. 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 (103.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures