Compared with the local labor market
Lead Heavy Equipment Operator pay vs. Utah
Across all employers in Utah, the median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators — about 7,880 people — is $60,740. Utah National Guard pays a median base salary of $43,531 for this role, 28% below that figure — below the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Utah National Guard sits in the local pay range
$47,420
$51,800
$60,740
$65,430
$75,880
Utah National Guard median · $43,531
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 Utah National Guard’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. Utah National Guard’s median base salary is 27% below that national figure, about the 13th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$42,190
$48,680
$59,850
$77,170
$101,090
Utah National Guard median · $43,531
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.
Computed over the 2 of 3 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in 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 Utah National Guard is $81,730, 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 Utah
Lead Heavy Equipment Operator is held in 2 Utah departments. In Utah National Guard, the median of $81,730 ranks #1 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
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
Lead Heavy Equipment Operator beyond Utah
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 →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
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.