Heavy equipment operator salary in Boston, MA-NH
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH area earn a median of $76,940 a year, or $36.99 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $125,860. That's about the same as the Massachusetts median of $76,820.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $25.96/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 6,370
- After cost of living
- $71,070
- Median hourly pay
- $36.99/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +29%
- vs Massachusetts median
- 0%
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $54,010–$62,620$25.96–$30.11/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $76,940$36.99/hr | |
| Top earners | $114,410–$125,860$55.00–$60.51/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Boston, MA-NH compares
- Boston ranks 2nd of 7 Massachusetts metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
- Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the Boston area than nationally: 2.4 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.77 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $125,860, is 2.3 times the 10th-percentile wage, $54,010: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Massachusetts metro areas
Other trades in Boston, MA-NH
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in Boston, MA-NH?
- Heavy equipment operators in the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH area earn a median of $76,940 a year, or $36.99 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $125,860.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Boston, MA-NH?
- The median hourly wage is $36.99. The middle half earn between $30.11 and $55.00 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Boston, MA-NH?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $25.96 an hour ($54,010 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $30.11.
- Do heavy equipment operators make more in Boston or Worcester?
- Pay is about the same: the median is $76,940 in Boston and $77,050 in Worcester.
- How does Boston pay compare with the rest of Massachusetts?
- The Boston median of $76,940 is about the same as the Massachusetts median of $76,820.
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 14460 (Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH). 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 (108.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures