Paving & asphalt recruiters serving Cleveland.
Cleveland's own market data does not publish a metro-specific paving wage figure - but it is direct about the demand: site work and access paving around the Clinic's Walton Hills and Avon campuses, plus standard municipal and commercial work.
One institution, two concurrent campus expansions.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What it does say: site work and access paving around the Clinic's Walton Hills and Avon campuses drive an unusually concentrated share of demand.
That's alongside the region's standard municipal and commercial paving demand, which continues on its own separate track.
We price offers against the region actual published context rather than importing a wage figure the market data does not support.
One health system, two campus build-outs.
$142M in Walton Hills, plus $322M in Lorain County.
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A 600,000 sq ft facility in Walton Hills requires site work and access paving distinct from the hospital-grade work driving the Clinic's other campus projects, completing late 2028.
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Multi-phase expansion of Avon Hospital and the Richard E. Jacobs Health Center in Lorain County requires sustained access paving outside the core city, completing 2029.
What paving & asphalt roles pay in Cleveland.
In the Cleveland metro, BLS puts the median for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators at $60,320 a year, 13% above the $53,340 national median. Among the 89 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Cleveland ranks 24th on pay. The range runs from $40,420 at the 10th percentile to $93,160 at the 90th, so experience is priced well above the middle of the market. Of the other field roles, heavy equipment operator pays the most locally, at a $71,740 median. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Paving & Asphalt Salary Guide.
| Role | Cleveland median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paving Equipment OperatorPaving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators (47-2071) | $60,320 | $40,420–$93,160 | $53,340 | +13% | 370 |
| Heavy Equipment OperatorOperating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators (47-2073) | $71,740 | $48,000–$99,760 | $59,850 | +20% | 2,660 |
| Construction LaborerConstruction Laborers (47-2061) | $57,180 | $37,670–$79,790 | $47,120 | +21% | 5,660 |
| Cement Mason / Concrete FinisherCement Masons and Concrete Finishers (47-2051) | $66,080 | $44,500–$85,900 | $57,020 | +16% | 900 |
| Dump Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $58,970 | $40,970–$76,110 | $58,640 | +1% | 11,970 |
| Paving ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $80,610 | $58,220–$106,340 | $79,920 | +1% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Cleveland metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile. Headcount is shown for field occupations only; management, estimating and supervisory codes are counted across every industry in the metro.
What candidates expect. What credentials matter. What kills offers.
We don't tell prospective clients who their competitors are hiring - that's a discipline our clients value, and we'll honor it on a call. What we will share publicly: how Cleveland paving and asphalt hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why Cleveland publishes no metro-specific paving wage figure
Unlike most other metros in our market series, the Cleveland hub page does not include a dedicated paving or equipment-operator wage row. Rather than invent a number the hub itself does not publish, we report what the market data does say: site work and access paving around the Clinic's Walton Hills and Avon campuses, plus standard municipal and commercial paving demand.
Why the healthcare campus build-out is the distinct driver here
Cleveland's paving demand is unusually concentrated around a single institution's expansion - the Clinic's Walton Hills Unified Operations Center and Avon campus - rather than a broad DOT program or private industrial boom.
Why Walton Hills and Avon are separate, concurrent demand sources
The Unified Operations Center ($142M, Walton Hills) and the Avon campus expansion ($322M, Lorain County) sit in different parts of the metro, each requiring their own access paving on overlapping multi-year timelines.
What this means for sourcing
We benchmark offers against the region documented general context, since no metro-specific paving wage figure exists in the published data. Candidates comfortable with institutional-campus site work are the better fit here.
Realistic timelines
Standard paving and heavy equipment roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer, consistent with the region's broader hiring timeline. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The paving and asphalt positions we fill, most often.
Across all Cleveland paving and asphalt clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months. Institutional-campus sitework specialists are the better fit given the Clinic-driven demand concentration.
- Heavy equipment operator
- Paving foreman
- Institutional-campus sitework crew lead
- Plant manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Cleveland, see the Cleveland metro overview. To learn more about paving and asphalt generally (across all 100+ markets we serve), see our Paving & Asphalt industry page.
How we recruit paving & asphalt in Cleveland, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Cleveland's paving and asphalt segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Cleveland paving work, we also confirm whether the role sits within the Clinic's Walton Hills/Avon scope or standard municipal work.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Cleveland paving and asphalt candidate network, filtered for verified equipment certifications and institutional-campus project history where required.
- Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real licensing and equipment certifications rather than a line on a resume - timeline depends on the project scope involved.
- Offer and close. Standard roles close in 4-6 weeks. We help with offer math against Cleveland documented general context, since no separate paving-specific figure exists in the published data.
Cleveland runs 32% more paving and asphalt workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Cleveland's paving and asphalt market compares
In 2023 the Cleveland metro had 63 highway, street and bridge contractors (counted by business location), with about 1,683 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $94,118, 6.9% above the national average of $88,070 for the same kind of employer. Headcount grew 1% over the year, a little behind the 3.5% national increase. That works out to 3.0 per 100,000 residents against 3.6 nationally. Fewer local employers means experienced people are easier to identify, but many work for firms based outside the metro. These firms account for 4.4% of all construction employment in the metro.
Among the 81 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Cleveland ranks 20th for headcount, 22nd for median pay and 24th for concentration for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | 490 | $62,490 | 1.65 | 67 |
| Cincinnati | 480 | $60,680 | 1.61 | 52 |
| Cleveland | 370 | $60,320 | 1.32 | 63 |
| Akron | 170 | $64,000 | 1.97 | 32 |
| Dayton | 70 | $50,640 | 0.67 | 16 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For paving and asphalt employers in Cleveland, the pool is deep and still growing, so the constraint is competition rather than supply. Move fast on good candidates, because another local firm is probably talking to them too.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Cleveland metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Cleveland's paving & asphalt market has changed since 2018.
Cleveland lost highway, street and bridge contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 66 business locations to 63 (down 5%), behind the 6% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went up 16%, to about 1,683 people, so fewer firms are employing more people each. Average annual pay there went from $88,365 to $94,118 (+7%), slower than the 24% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway, street and bridge contractors: business locations | 66 | 63 | −5% |
| Highway, street and bridge contractors: employment | 1,452 | 1,683 | +16% |
| Highway, street and bridge contractors: average annual pay | $88,365 | $94,118 | +7% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Frequently asked — paving & asphalt hiring in Cleveland.
What is uniquely driving paving demand in Cleveland?
The metro's own data names site work and access paving around Cleveland Clinic's Walton Hills and Avon campuses specifically - an unusually concentrated, institution-driven demand source compared to most other metros.
What is driving paving demand in Cleveland right now?
The Cleveland Clinic Unified Operations Center ($142M, Walton Hills) and the Cleveland Clinic Avon campus expansion ($322M, Lorain County) are the named drivers, alongside standard municipal and commercial paving demand.
What do paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators earn in Cleveland?
BLS puts the Cleveland median for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators at $60,320 a year, 13% above the $53,340 national median. That ranks 24th of 89 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. The range is unusually wide: $40,420 at the bottom tenth against $93,160 at the top tenth, a 2.3x gap. Senior people here are priced far above the median. Within Ohio, Akron pays more, at $64,000.
Is it hard to hire paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators in Cleveland?
Not by national standards. Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators make up 32% more of the Cleveland workforce than they do nationally, about 370 people. The 63 highway, street and bridge contractors here average about 27 employees per location.
Which paving & asphalt roles pay the most in Cleveland?
Of the roles we recruit for, Paving Foreman pays the most in Cleveland, a $80,610 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Heavy Equipment Operator at $71,740, 11% below it. Construction Laborer is the lowest-paid field role at $57,180. Relative to national pay, Construction Laborer is the strongest-paying role here (21% above).
How many highway, street and bridge contractors operate in Cleveland?
BLS counted 63 highway, street and bridge contractors in Cleveland in 2023, employing about 1,683 people between them. Down from 66 in 2018, a 5% decline against 6% growth nationally. That averages 27 people per location. They pay an average of $94,118, 7% above the $88,070 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Cleveland for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Akron (30 miles, about 170, $64,000 median), Detroit (90 miles, about 580, $51,310 median) and Pittsburgh (115 miles, about 100, $49,610 median). Detroit has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Akron pays 6% more, which is where Cleveland employers tend to lose people.
Hiring paving and asphalt talent in Cleveland?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you wages, timeline, and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.