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.
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators salary by state
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators is a professional role in the Construction and Extraction job family, focused on Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators work. Pay for this title reflects both its level and its scope; see our Title Level and Organization Responsibility guides for how WePayFairly defines them.
What Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operatorss do
Typical education: Less than a High School Diploma
Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.
Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
Coordinate truck dumping.
Top skills:Operations MonitoringOperation and ControlMonitoringTroubleshootingRepairingCritical Thinking
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators salary by industry
Construction
31,820 workers
$61,000
Federal, State, and Local Government, excl. State & Local Schools & Hospitals & USPS
6,250 workers
$62,000
Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
6,000 workers
$62,000
Sectors 31, 32, and 33 – Manufacturing
2,300 workers
$62,500
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
440 workers
$53,000
Sectors 48 and 49 – Transportation and Warehousing
260 workers
$63,500
State Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
260 workers
$55,500
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
170 workers
$60,000
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
How this role compares
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators pays 5% below the average across 60 roles in the Construction and Extraction job family (family average $64,000).
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