Do heavy equipment operators make more in Omaha or Lincoln?

Lincoln pays more: the median is $60,020 in Omaha and $60,810 in Lincoln, a 1% difference.

Heavy equipment operator salary in Omaha, NE-IA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Heavy equipment operators in the Omaha, NE-IA area earn a median of $60,020 a year, or $28.86 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $77,920. That's 3% more than the Nebraska median of $58,360.

Median yearly pay$60,020

Bottom 10% under$46,870Top 10% over$77,920

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $22.54/hr
Jobs in this area: 1,380
After cost of living: $65,300
Median hourly pay: $28.86/hr
vs U.S. median: 0%
vs Nebraska median: +3%
Mean (average) pay: $61,090 a year · $29.37 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 36540, Omaha, NE-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.

Pay by percentile

What heavy equipment operators in Omaha, NE-IA 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	$22.54	$46,870
25th percentile	$24.14	$50,200
Median (50th)	$28.86	$60,020
75th percentile	$31.54	$65,600
90th percentile	$37.46	$77,920

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How Omaha, NE-IA compares

Omaha ranks 2nd of 4 Nebraska metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the Omaha area than nationally: 2.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.90 times the U.S. share.

Other Nebraska metro areas

Other trades in Omaha, NE-IA

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Lineman Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Elevator mechanic Auto mechanic Roofer Ironworker Millwright

Questions

Do heavy equipment operators make more in Omaha or Lincoln?: Lincoln pays more: the median is $60,020 in Omaha and $60,810 in Lincoln, a 1% difference.

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 36540 (Omaha, NE-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 (91.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures