Heavy equipment operator salary in Kentucky
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in Kentucky earn a median of $57,780 a year, or $27.78 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $80,890. Kentucky ranks 35th of 51 states and DC for heavy equipment operator pay, at 3% less than the U.S. median of $59,850.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $21.45/hr
- Jobs in Kentucky
- 7,050
- After cost of living
- $64,090
- Median hourly pay
- $27.78/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −3%
- Rank among states
- 35th of 51
- Mean (average) pay
- $59,320 a year · $28.52 an hour
Pay by percentile
What heavy equipment operators in Kentucky 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.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $21.45 | $44,620 |
| 25th percentile | $23.58 | $49,040 |
| Median (50th) | $27.78 | $57,780 |
| 75th percentile | $31.59 | $65,720 |
| 90th percentile | $38.89 | $80,890 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median heavy equipment operator wage in Kentucky rose 23.5%, from $46,780 in May 2021 to $57,780 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 3.4%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $46,780 | $22.49/hr |
| May 2022 | $49,780 | $23.93/hr |
| May 2023 | $54,610 | $26.25/hr |
| May 2024 | $57,060 | $27.43/hr |
| May 2025 | $57,780 | $27.78/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 Kentucky compares
- Heavy equipment operators are more concentrated in Kentucky than nationally: 3.5 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.1 times the U.S. share.
Pay by metro area
Rural Kentucky
- West Kentucky$57,210
- East Kentucky$56,990
- Central Kentucky$51,420
- South Central Kentucky$50,100
Other trades in Kentucky
Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in Kentucky list what contractors must pay heavy equipment operators on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.
Questions
- Where in Kentucky do heavy equipment operators earn the most?
- Among Kentucky metro areas, Cincinnati has the highest median at $66,950 a year, and Owensboro the lowest at $49,550.
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 21. 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 (90.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures