Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Base salary plus target annual bonus. Target bonus opportunity scales with role level, so a higher base carries a higher target percentage.
Base salary
$58,000
National baseline
Target bonus
$5,500
9.3% of base
Total target cash
$63,500
Base plus target bonus
Bonus percentiles:25th$3,50050th$5,50075th$9,000
Long-term incentive is not shown for this role. Equity awards are only disclosed publicly for the named executive officers of public companies, so no market figure exists for most jobs. See executive pay disclosures.
Typical entry preparation: High School Diploma and up to 1 year of related work experience, per O*NET occupational data. Advancement typically requires additional years in role.
Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of cutterheads.
Start and stop engines to operate equipment.
Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually.
Pump water to clear machinery pipelines.
Lower anchor poles to verify depths of excavations, using winches, or scan depth gauges to determine depths of excavations.
Top skills:Operation and ControlOperations MonitoringJudgment and Decision MakingCritical ThinkingCoordinationTroubleshooting
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Dredge Operator pay by experience level
Entry level$42,500
Typical starting pay (about the 10th percentile)
Early career$48,000
A few years in (about the 25th percentile)
Experienced$51,500
Mid-career median pay
Senior$64,000
Seasoned professionals (about the 75th percentile)
Top earners$76,500
Highest earners (about the 90th percentile)
Experience tiers are derived from the BLS wage percentile distribution for this occupation, aged to 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, and specialization.
Job outlook
+1.2%
projected change in jobs, 2024–2034
100
projected openings per year
Growing slower than average
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (2024–2034). Openings include growth and replacement needs.
Dredge Operator salary by industry
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
580 workers
$58,500
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
560 workers
$59,000
Mining (except Oil and Gas)
280 workers
$58,000
Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying
280 workers
$58,000
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS
90 workers
$61,000
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
50 workers
$68,500
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
40 workers
$51,500
Truck Transportation$42,000
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
Pay trend
National median annual wage, 2020 to 2025: $49,210 to $49,640.
+0.9% over this period
Medians as published each May in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics national estimates. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS.
Pay by experience level
How annual pay for this occupation spreads from newcomers to the highest paid, aged to 2026.
Entry10th percentile
$42,500
Early career25th percentile
$48,000
Median50th percentile
$51,500
Experienced75th percentile
$64,000
Top earners90th percentile
$76,500
Bands are the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile annual wages for this occupation nationally. Percentiles reflect the full mix of tenure, employer, and location, so they approximate but do not equal years of experience. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS national estimates.
Where this job pays most
Top-paying states for this occupation, average annual wage aged to 2026.
State averages for this occupation from the BLS OEWS state estimates. Cost of living differs by state; a higher wage does not always mean more buying power.
The abilities employers and analysts most associate with this occupation.
Operation and ControlOperations MonitoringJudgment and Decision MakingCritical ThinkingCoordinationTroubleshooting
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET occupational database.
Typical duties and FLSA status
Core duties
Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of cutterheads.
Start and stop engines to operate equipment.
Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually.
Pump water to clear machinery pipelines.
Lower anchor poles to verify depths of excavations, using winches, or scan depth gauges to determine depths of excavations.
FLSA classification (typical)
Typically Non-exempt · Service, trades, or production work
Occupations in this SOC group are typically classified as Non-exempt and eligible for overtime pay under FLSA rules. Actual classification depends on the specific job duties, salary basis, and any applicable state or local rules. The current federal salary threshold for exemption is $684 per week ($35,568 per year), per the 2020 Department of Labor rule; the 2024 rule that would have raised the threshold was struck down by federal court in November 2024.
Pay outlook
Five-year pay outlook for this title
2026$58,000
2027$60,000
2028$62,000
2029$64,500
2030$66,500
2031$69,000
Projection assumes market wages keep rising about 3.5% a year, consistent with recent wage growth measured by the BLS Employment Cost Index. It reflects market movement for the title, not individual raises or promotions, which vary.
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Sources and assumptions
Modeled market estimate, aged to 2026. Underlying source families are BLS OEWS May 2025 for BLS-mapped occupations and the 2018–19 collection for corporate titles. Annual aging is compounded at approximately 3–4%; geographic, industry and company-size repricing are modeled. See the role details and methodology for the applicable source and assumptions.
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The median market pay for a Dredge Operator in the United States is about $58,000 per year in 2026, based on WePayFairly's market model.
What is the salary range for a Dredge Operator?
Most Dredge Operator pay falls between about $48,000 (25th percentile) and $64,000 (75th percentile), with top earners above $76,500.
What does a Dredge Operator do?
Core responsibilities include: move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of cutterheads; and start and stop engines to operate equipment.
Is pay for Dredge Operator roles growing?
Yes. The national median wage for this occupation moved from $49,210 in 2020 to $49,640 in 2025, a change of +0.9% in nominal dollars.
How this role compares
Dredge Operator pays 16% below the average across 53 roles in the Transportation and Material Moving job family (family average $69,000).
Similar-paying roles in Transportation and Material Moving
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