Heavy equipment operator salary in Grants Pass, OR
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in the Grants Pass, OR area earn a median of $63,920 a year, or $30.73 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $84,410. Across all of Oregon, the median is $73,430, so Grants Pass pays 13% less than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $25.75/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 90
- After cost of living
- $65,380
- Median hourly pay
- $30.73/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +7%
- vs Oregon median
- −13%
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $53,570–$59,980$25.75–$28.84/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $63,920$30.73/hr | |
| Top earners | $72,580–$84,410$34.89–$40.58/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Grants Pass, OR compares
- Grants Pass ranks 6th of 8 Oregon metro areas for heavy equipment operator pay.
- Heavy equipment operators hold about the same share of jobs in the Grants Pass area as nationally: 2.9 of every 1,000 jobs.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $84,410, is 1.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $53,570: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Oregon metro areas
Other trades in Grants Pass, OR
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in Grants Pass, OR?
- Heavy equipment operators in the Grants Pass, OR area earn a median of $63,920 a year, or $30.73 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $84,410.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Grants Pass, OR?
- The median hourly wage is $30.73. The middle half earn between $28.84 and $34.89 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Grants Pass, OR?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $25.75 an hour ($53,570 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $28.84.
- Do heavy equipment operators make more in Grants Pass or Portland?
- Portland pays more: the median is $63,920 in Grants Pass and $79,040 in Portland, a 19% difference.
- How does Grants Pass pay compare with the rest of Oregon?
- The Grants Pass median of $63,920 is 13% 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 24420 (Grants Pass, 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 (97.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures