Heavy Equipment Operator 3

Across all employers in Georgia, the median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators — about 15,700 people — is $47,880. Correctional Industries Administration, Georgia pays a median base salary of $49,768 for this role, 4% above that figure — about the 55th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Computed over the 5 of 8 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at Correctional Industries Administration, Georgia is $44,037, 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.

Heavy Equipment Operator 3 is held in 3 Georgia departments. In Correctional Industries Administration, Georgia, the median of $50,194 ranks #2 of 3.

This role is reported in 12 jurisdictions. In Georgia, the median of $42,703 ranks #9 of 12. See Heavy Equipment Operator across all of Georgia →