How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Iowa City, IA?

The median hourly wage is $29.10. The middle half earn between $27.22 and $34.14 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Iowa City, IA?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $24.04 an hour ($49,990 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $27.22.

Do heavy equipment operators make more in Iowa City or Waterloo?

Waterloo pays more: the median is $60,530 in Iowa City and $97,770 in Waterloo, a 38% difference.

How does Iowa City pay compare with the rest of Iowa?

The Iowa City median of $60,530 is about the same as the Iowa median of $60,330.

Heavy equipment operator salary in Iowa City, IA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Heavy equipment operators in the Iowa City, IA area earn a median of $60,530 a year, or $29.10 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $79,080 a year. That's about the same as the Iowa median of $60,330.

Median yearly pay$60,530

Bottom 10% under$49,990Top 10% over$79,080

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $24.04/hr
Jobs in this area: 210
After cost of living: $66,150
Median hourly pay: $29.10/hr
vs U.S. median: +1%
vs Iowa median: 0%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 26980, Iowa City, IA). 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	$49,990–$56,620$24.04–$27.22/hr
Experienced operator	$60,530$29.10/hr
Top earners	$71,010–$79,080$34.14–$38.02/hr

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

How Iowa City, IA compares

Iowa City ranks 7th of 9 Iowa metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the Iowa City area than nationally: 2.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.73 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $79,080, is 1.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $49,990: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Iowa metro areas

Other trades in Iowa City, IA

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Auto mechanic

Questions

How much do heavy equipment operators make in Iowa City, IA?: Heavy equipment operators in the Iowa City, IA area earn a median of $60,530 a year, or $29.10 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $79,080 a year.
How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Iowa City, IA?: The median hourly wage is $29.10. The middle half earn between $27.22 and $34.14 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Iowa City, IA?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $24.04 an hour ($49,990 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $27.22.
Do heavy equipment operators make more in Iowa City or Waterloo?: Waterloo pays more: the median is $60,530 in Iowa City and $97,770 in Waterloo, a 38% difference.
How does Iowa City pay compare with the rest of Iowa?: The Iowa City median of $60,530 is about the same as the Iowa median of $60,330.

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 26980 (Iowa City, IA). 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 (91.5, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures