TradeSalary

Heavy equipment operator salary in Canton, OH

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Heavy equipment operators in the Canton–Massillon, OH area earn a median of $60,010 a year, or $28.85 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $92,410 a year. That's 8% less than the Ohio median of $64,940.

Median yearly pay$60,010
Bottom 10% under$41,870Top 10% over$92,410
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$20.13/hr
Jobs in this area
530
After cost of living
$67,120
Median hourly pay
$28.85/hr
vs U.S. median
0%
vs Ohio median
−8%
Mean (average) pay
$66,590 a year · $32.02 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 15940, Canton-Massillon, OH). 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 Canton, OH 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.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$20.13$41,870
25th percentile$24.38$50,710
Median (50th)$28.85$60,010
75th percentile$43.07$89,590
90th percentile$44.43$92,410

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

How Canton, OH compares

  • Canton ranks 9th of 15 Ohio metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
  • Heavy equipment operators hold about the same share of jobs in the Canton area as nationally: 3.3 of every 1,000 jobs.

Other Ohio metro areas

Other trades in Canton, OH

Questions

Do heavy equipment operators make more in Canton or Columbus?
Columbus pays more: the median is $60,010 in Canton and $78,950 in Columbus, a 24% 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 15940 (Canton-Massillon, OH). 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 (89.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures