Asphalt / Paving Operator
We place this role between $55,000 and $80,000 a year at mid experience, before overtime, bonus and on-call.
What this role pays.
That band is mid experience, built from our own engagement history. Experience and region move it - the salary calculator applies both.
The federal occupation this role reports under is Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators (SOC 47-2071), May 2025. Nationally it reports a median of $53,340 , with the middle of the market between $38,230 and $92,230. BLS counts this job inside that occupation rather than publishing it separately, so the figures cover a slightly wider group than this exact title.
Where it pays most.
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators across the metros we cover, May 2025. BLS publishes a median for 89 of them and withholds the rest, where the local sample was too small to be reliable.
| Metro | Median | Employed there |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside | $126,640 | 310 |
| urban honolulu hi | $111,360 | - |
| San Francisco | $104,530 | 260 |
| Seattle | $96,590 | 270 |
| Madison | $93,610 | 80 |
| Milwaukee | $83,370 | 140 |
| Chicago | $80,340 | 740 |
| Hartford | $77,480 | 70 |
| Chattanooga | $38,510 | 90 |
| Memphis | $39,120 | 200 |
| Charleston | $39,130 | 110 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. The last three rows are the lowest-paying metros in the same set. Headcount is metro-wide across every industry, not this trade alone.
Asphalt / Paving Operator vs Screed Operator.
Both sit on the same machine. The paver operator drives it - line, speed, feed, and keeping the hopper supplied so the mat never stops moving - while the screed operator, riding behind, sets thickness, crown and joint. A crew needs one of each, and a contractor short a screed operator cannot simply move the paver operator across without opening the seat they were filling. The CDL sits on this side of the pair, because the operator is often the one moving equipment between jobs.
Credentials that move an offer.
- CDL
Licensing is a state question, not a national one. The Paving & Asphalt hiring page carries the state-by-state position, and every market page names the authority for that state.
What the search actually takes.
We have closed 4 paving & asphalt searches in 2026 year to date, which is below the 8 we require before publishing a median. We would rather print the count than a number the sample cannot carry. The Hiring Index shows what we do and do not have.
Keep reading.
- 2026 Paving & Asphalt Salary Guide - the full benchmark by role.
- Paving & Asphalt recruiting - how we run this trade.
- Salary calculator - the band by experience and region.
- Paving & Asphalt hiring in Houston - one market in detail.
- Hiring Index - how long our searches actually take.
Other Paving & Asphalt roles we recruit
All 56 roles we recruit - every trade, every seat.