Heavy equipment operator salary in Santa Fe, NM
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in the Santa Fe, NM area earn a median of $52,000 a year, or $25.00 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $71,050 a year. Across all of New Mexico, the median is $52,000, so Santa Fe pays about the same as the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $22.18/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 140
- After cost of living
- $52,650
- Median hourly pay
- $25.00/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −13%
- vs New Mexico median
- 0%
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $46,140–$48,250$22.18–$23.20/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $52,000$25.00/hr | |
| Top earners | $58,750–$71,050$28.24–$34.16/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Santa Fe, NM compares
- Santa Fe ranks 2nd of 4 New Mexico metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
- Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the Santa Fe area than nationally: 2.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.76 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $71,050, is 1.5 times the 10th-percentile wage, $46,140: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other New Mexico metro areas
Other trades in Santa Fe, NM
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in Santa Fe, NM?
- Heavy equipment operators in the Santa Fe, NM area earn a median of $52,000 a year, or $25.00 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $71,050 a year.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Santa Fe, NM?
- The median hourly wage is $25.00. The middle half earn between $23.20 and $28.24 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Santa Fe, NM?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.18 an hour ($46,140 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.20.
- Do heavy equipment operators make more in Santa Fe or Farmington?
- Farmington pays more: the median is $52,000 in Santa Fe and $55,180 in Farmington, a 6% difference.
- How does Santa Fe pay compare with the rest of New Mexico?
- The Santa Fe median of $52,000 is about the same as the New Mexico median of $52,000.
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 42140 (Santa Fe, NM). 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 (98.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures