Heavy equipment operator salary in North Carolina
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in North Carolina earn a median of $49,310 a year, or $23.71 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $64,450. Nationally the median is $59,850, so North Carolina pays 18% less than the U.S. overall and ranks 45th of 51.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $18.78/hr
- Jobs in North Carolina
- 16,580
- After cost of living
- $52,280
- Median hourly pay
- $23.71/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −18%
- Rank among states
- 45th of 51
- Mean (average) pay
- $52,310 a year · $25.15 an hour
Pay by percentile
What heavy equipment operators in North Carolina 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 | $18.78 | $39,050 |
| 25th percentile | $21.97 | $45,700 |
| Median (50th) | $23.71 | $49,310 |
| 75th percentile | $27.82 | $57,870 |
| 90th percentile | $30.98 | $64,450 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median heavy equipment operator wage in North Carolina rose 25.4%, from $39,330 in May 2021 to $49,310 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 5%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $39,330 | $18.91/hr |
| May 2022 | $45,380 | $21.82/hr |
| May 2023 | $47,460 | $22.82/hr |
| May 2024 | $48,910 | $23.51/hr |
| May 2025 | $49,310 | $23.71/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How North Carolina compares
- Heavy equipment operators hold about the same share of jobs in North Carolina as nationally: 3.4 of every 1,000 jobs.
Pay by metro area
Rural North Carolina
- Western North Carolina$48,060
- Eastern North Carolina$47,860
- Central North Carolina$46,670
Other trades in North Carolina
Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in North Carolina list what contractors must pay heavy equipment operators on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.
Questions
- Where in North Carolina do heavy equipment operators earn the most?
- Among North Carolina metro areas, Virginia Beach–Chesapeake–Norfolk has the highest median at $52,060 a year, and Jacksonville the lowest at $46,930.
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 37. 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 (94.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures