TradeSalary

Heavy equipment operator salary in Ocala, FL

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Heavy equipment operators in the Ocala, FL area earn a median of $46,500 a year, or $22.35 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $59,680. That's 6% less than the Florida median of $49,400.

Median yearly pay$46,500
Bottom 10% under$36,520Top 10% over$59,680
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$17.56/hr
Jobs in this area
460
After cost of living
$48,830
Median hourly pay
$22.35/hr
vs U.S. median
−22%
vs Florida median
−6%
Mean (average) pay
$47,410 a year · $22.79 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 36100, Ocala, FL). 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 Ocala, FL 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$17.56$36,520
25th percentile$18.50$38,470
Median (50th)$22.35$46,500
75th percentile$24.33$50,600
90th percentile$28.69$59,680

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

How Ocala, FL compares

  • Ocala ranks 20th of 22 Florida metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
  • Heavy equipment operators are more concentrated in the Ocala area than nationally: 3.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Florida metro areas

Other trades in Ocala, FL

Questions

Do heavy equipment operators make more in Ocala or Miami?
Miami pays more: the median is $46,500 in Ocala and $51,800 in Miami, a 10% 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 36100 (Ocala, FL). 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 (95.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures