Compared with the local labor market
Equipment Operator III pay vs. Texas
Across all employers in Texas, the median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators — about 55,540 people — is $50,460. Texas Department of Criminal Justice pays a median base salary of $55,462 for this role, 10% above that figure — about the 63rd percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Texas Department of Criminal Justice sits in the local pay range
$38,900
$46,120
$50,460
$59,990
$70,010
Texas Department of Criminal Justice median · $55,462
The bar is the range of annual wages for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators across every employer in Texas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Texas Department of Criminal Justice’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. Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s median base salary is 7% below that national figure, about the 40th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$42,190
$48,680
$59,850
$77,170
$101,090
Texas Department of Criminal Justice median · $55,462
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 Texas range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Texas Department of Criminal Justice is $55,462, 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 Texas
Equipment Operator III is held in 2 Texas departments. In Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the median of $52,000 ranks #2 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Equipment Operator III role in other Texasdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.