Heavy equipment operator salary in Idaho Falls, ID
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in the Idaho Falls, ID area earn a median of $63,910 a year, or $30.73 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $98,150 a year. Across all of Idaho, the median is $61,680, so Idaho Falls pays 4% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $22.78/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 470
- After cost of living
- $67,690
- Median hourly pay
- $30.73/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +7%
- vs Idaho median
- +4%
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $47,380–$50,200$22.78–$24.14/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $63,910$30.73/hr | |
| Top earners | $92,600–$98,150$44.52–$47.19/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Idaho Falls, ID compares
- Idaho Falls ranks 2nd of 7 Idaho metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
- Heavy equipment operators are more concentrated in the Idaho Falls area than nationally: 5.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.9 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $98,150, is 2.1 times the 10th-percentile wage, $47,380: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Idaho metro areas
Other trades in Idaho Falls, ID
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in Idaho Falls, ID?
- Heavy equipment operators in the Idaho Falls, ID area earn a median of $63,910 a year, or $30.73 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $98,150 a year.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Idaho Falls, ID?
- The median hourly wage is $30.73. The middle half earn between $24.14 and $44.52 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Idaho Falls, ID?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.78 an hour ($47,380 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $24.14.
- Do heavy equipment operators make more in Idaho Falls or Coeur d'Alene?
- Coeur d'Alene pays more: the median is $63,910 in Idaho Falls and $64,540 in Coeur d'Alene, a 1% difference.
- How does Idaho Falls pay compare with the rest of Idaho?
- The Idaho Falls median of $63,910 is 4% more than the Idaho median of $61,680.
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 26820 (Idaho Falls, ID). 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 (94.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures