Heavy equipment operator salary in St. Louis, MO-IL
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in the St. Louis, MO-IL area earn a median of $82,270 a year, or $39.56 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $100,810. Across all of Missouri, the median is $60,540, so St. Louis pays 36% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $22.70/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 4,190
- After cost of living
- $86,520
- Median hourly pay
- $39.56/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +37%
- vs Missouri median
- +36%
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $47,210–$58,600$22.70–$28.17/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $82,270$39.56/hr | |
| Top earners | $94,250–$100,810$45.31–$48.47/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How St. Louis, MO-IL compares
- St. Louis has the highest heavy equipment operator median of the 8 Missouri metro areas with published pay.
- Heavy equipment operators hold about the same share of jobs in the St. Louis area as nationally: 3.1 of every 1,000 jobs.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $100,810, is 2.1 times the 10th-percentile wage, $47,210: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Missouri metro areas
Other trades in St. Louis, MO-IL
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
- Heavy equipment operators in the St. Louis, MO-IL area earn a median of $82,270 a year, or $39.56 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $100,810.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in St. Louis, MO-IL?
- The median hourly wage is $39.56. The middle half earn between $28.17 and $45.31 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.70 an hour ($47,210 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $28.17.
- Do heavy equipment operators make more in St. Louis or Jefferson City?
- St. Louis pays more: the median is $82,270 in St. Louis and $71,140 in Jefferson City, a 16% difference.
- How does St. Louis pay compare with the rest of Missouri?
- The St. Louis median of $82,270 is 36% more than the Missouri median of $60,540.
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 41180 (St. Louis, MO-IL). 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 (95.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures