Heavy equipment operator salary in Sioux Falls, SD-MN
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Heavy equipment operators in the Sioux Falls, SD-MN area earn a median of $60,960 a year, or $29.31 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $77,180. Statewide, heavy equipment operators earn a median of $59,500; Sioux Falls is 2% above it.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $23.23/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 630
- After cost of living
- $67,260
- Median hourly pay
- $29.31/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +2%
- vs South Dakota median
- +2%
Entry-level to top heavy equipment operator pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / entry level | $48,310–$56,380$23.23–$27.11/hr | |
| Experienced operator | $60,960$29.31/hr | |
| Top earners | $64,760–$77,180$31.14–$37.11/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Sioux Falls, SD-MN compares
- Sioux Falls has the highest heavy equipment operator median of the 3 South Dakota metro areas with published pay.
- Heavy equipment operators are more concentrated in the Sioux Falls area than nationally: 3.5 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.1 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $77,180, is 1.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $48,310: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other South Dakota metro areas
Other trades in Sioux Falls, SD-MN
Questions
- How much do heavy equipment operators make in Sioux Falls, SD-MN?
- Heavy equipment operators in the Sioux Falls, SD-MN area earn a median of $60,960 a year, or $29.31 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $77,180.
- How much do heavy equipment operators make an hour in Sioux Falls, SD-MN?
- The median hourly wage is $29.31. The middle half earn between $27.11 and $31.14 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice heavy equipment operators make in Sioux Falls, SD-MN?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.23 an hour ($48,310 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $27.11.
- Do heavy equipment operators make more in Sioux Falls or Rapid City?
- Pay is about the same: the median is $60,960 in Sioux Falls and $60,660 in Rapid City.
- How does Sioux Falls pay compare with the rest of South Dakota?
- The Sioux Falls median of $60,960 is 2% more than the South Dakota median of $59,500.
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 43620 (Sioux Falls, SD-MN). 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 (90.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures