How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Corvallis, OR?

The median hourly wage is $29.70. The middle half earn between $28.11 and $34.20 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Corvallis, OR?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $24.46 an hour ($50,880 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $28.11.

Do heavy equipment operators make more in Corvallis or Portland?

Portland pays more: the median is $61,780 in Corvallis and $79,040 in Portland, a 22% difference.

How does Corvallis pay compare with the rest of Oregon?

The Corvallis median of $61,780 is 16% less than the Oregon median of $73,430.

Heavy equipment operator salary in Corvallis, OR

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Heavy equipment operators in the Corvallis, OR area earn a median of $61,780 a year, or $29.70 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $79,090. Across all of Oregon, the median is $73,430, so Corvallis pays 16% less than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$61,780

Bottom 10% under$50,880Top 10% over$79,090

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $24.46/hr
Jobs in this area: 60
After cost of living: $59,390
Median hourly pay: $29.70/hr
vs U.S. median: +3%
vs Oregon median: −16%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 18700, Corvallis, OR). 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.

Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay

Stage	Yearly pay	Hourly pay
Apprentice / entry level	$50,880–$58,470$24.46–$28.11/hr
Experienced operator	$61,780$29.70/hr
Top earners	$71,140–$79,090$34.20–$38.03/hr

Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.

How Corvallis, OR compares

Corvallis has the lowest heavy equipment operator median of the 8 Oregon metro areas with published pay.
Heavy equipment operators are less concentrated in the Corvallis area than nationally: 1.5 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.50 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $79,090, is 1.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $50,880: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Oregon metro areas

Other trades in Corvallis, OR

Electrician Welder Plumber Carpenter Auto mechanic

Questions

How much do heavy equipment operators make in Corvallis, OR?: Heavy equipment operators in the Corvallis, OR area earn a median of $61,780 a year, or $29.70 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $79,090.
How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Corvallis, OR?: The median hourly wage is $29.70. The middle half earn between $28.11 and $34.20 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Corvallis, OR?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $24.46 an hour ($50,880 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $28.11.
Do heavy equipment operators make more in Corvallis or Portland?: Portland pays more: the median is $61,780 in Corvallis and $79,040 in Portland, a 22% difference.
How does Corvallis pay compare with the rest of Oregon?: The Corvallis median of $61,780 is 16% less than the Oregon median of $73,430.

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 18700 (Corvallis, OR). 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 (104.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures