Heavy equipment operator salary in New Orleans, LA
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in the New Orleans–Metairie, LA area earn a median of $58,240 a year, or $28.00 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $75,400. Across all of Louisiana, the median is $51,700, so New Orleans pays 13% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $18.91/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 1,150
- After cost of living
- $62,900
- Median hourly pay
- $28.00/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −3%
- vs Louisiana median
- +13%
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $39,330–$47,770$18.91–$22.97/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $58,240$28.00/hr | |
| Top earners | $67,040–$75,400$32.23–$36.25/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How New Orleans, LA compares
- New Orleans has the highest heavy equipment operator median of the 10 Louisiana metro areas with published pay.
- Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the New Orleans area than nationally: 2.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.84 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $75,400, is 1.9 times the 10th-percentile wage, $39,330: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Louisiana metro areas
Other trades in New Orleans, LA
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in New Orleans, LA?
- Heavy equipment operators in the New Orleans–Metairie, LA area earn a median of $58,240 a year, or $28.00 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $75,400.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in New Orleans, LA?
- The median hourly wage is $28.00. The middle half earn between $22.97 and $32.23 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in New Orleans, LA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $18.91 an hour ($39,330 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.97.
- Do heavy equipment operators make more in New Orleans or Baton Rouge?
- Pay is about the same: the median is $58,240 in New Orleans and $58,210 in Baton Rouge.
- How does New Orleans pay compare with the rest of Louisiana?
- The New Orleans median of $58,240 is 13% more than the Louisiana median of $51,700.
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 35380 (New Orleans-Metairie, LA). 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 (92.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures