Utah / Department of Natural Resources / Lead Heavy Equipment Operator
Job-title file
Operate, maintain, and repair equipment or facilities, performing skilled hands-on work.
2 employees hold this title in Department of Natural Resources. Median total compensation for the role is $78,896, above the department median of $12,045.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in Utah, the median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators — about 7,880 people — is $60,740. Department of Natural Resources pays a median base salary of $38,111 for this role, 37% below that figure — below the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators across every employer in Utah, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Natural Resources’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 Natural Resources’s median base salary is 36% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
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 Utah range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Natural Resources is $74,762, 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
Lead Heavy Equipment Operator is held in 2 Utah departments. In Department of Natural Resources, the median of $78,896 ranks #2 of 2.
Median total compensation for the Lead Heavy Equipment Operator role in other Utahdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 2 jurisdictions. In Utah, the median of $74,762 ranks #1 of 2. See Lead Heavy Equipment Operator across all of Utah →
Median total compensation for comparable Lead Heavy Equipment Operator roles 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.
Same department
Record list
Page 1
Lead Heavy Equipment Operator/Department of Natural Resources
Source-specific fields
Nicolas Ware works as a Lead Heavy Equipment Operator for Department of Natural Resources within Comp & Excess Pool. Nicolas earned $83,029 in 2018.
Lead Heavy Equipment Operator/Department of Natural Resources
Source-specific fields
Steven Thomas works as a Lead Heavy Equipment Operator for Department of Natural Resources within Comp & Excess Pool. Steven earned $74,762 in 2019.