Compared with the local labor market
Heavy Equipment Operator pay vs. Florida
Across all employers in Florida, the median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators — about 27,510 people — is $49,400. Department of Military Affairs pays a median base salary of $38,136 for this role, 23% below that figure — below the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Military Affairs sits in the local pay range
$38,820
$46,330
$49,400
$58,360
$64,020
Department of Military Affairs median · $38,136
The bar is the range of annual wages for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators across every employer in Florida, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Military Affairs’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators — about 478,090 people — is $59,850. Department of Military Affairs’s median base salary is 36% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$42,190
$48,680
$59,850
$77,170
$101,090
Department of Military Affairs median · $38,136
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Florida range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Military Affairs is $38,136, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across Florida
Heavy Equipment Operator is held in 2 Florida departments. In Department of Military Affairs, the median of $38,136 ranks #2 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Heavy Equipment Operator role in other Floridadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Heavy Equipment Operator beyond Florida
This role is reported in 12 jurisdictions. In Florida, the median of $45,562 ranks #7 of 12. See Heavy Equipment Operator across all of Florida →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Heavy Equipment Operatorroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.