Paving & asphalt recruiters serving Jacksonville.
JAXPORT's harbor deepening and Berth 21 expansion keep marine/port equipment operators in steady demand - a different scope than the standard logistics-corridor paving driving the region's warehouse boom.
Port-specific demand, with a real wage premium.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What it does publish: a heavy equipment operator (marine/port) rate of $26-$34/hr against a national range of $23-$30/hr - a roughly 8% premium. We treat that as the closest documented proxy, not a general paving figure, and say so plainly.
That premium tracks with what the hub itself flags: port access roads and JAXPORT's ongoing berth and harbor programs, alongside standard logistics-corridor site paving for the warehouse boom.
We recruit across the full org chart for paving and asphalt contractors in Jacksonville against that documented context.
A harbor deepening program, and a new berth.
Multi-hundred-million in harbor work, plus $60M in new berth capacity.
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Raises the operational air-draft clearance over the harbor to 205 feet, allowing larger vessels to call - heavy civil and port access-road paving at a scale few Southeast ports carry, on track for completion end of 2026.
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New vehicle-import berth capacity requires marine construction and access-road paving tied directly to the freight-handling expansion, on track for early 2027.
What paving & asphalt roles pay in Jacksonville.
In the Jacksonville metro, BLS puts the median for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators at $47,300 a year, 11% below the $53,340 national median. Among the 89 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Jacksonville ranks 63rd on pay. Most of the market sits between $38,760 and $59,190. Of the other field roles, dump truck driver pays the most locally, at a $55,630 median. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Paving & Asphalt Salary Guide.
| Role | Jacksonville median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paving Equipment OperatorPaving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators (47-2071) | $47,300 | $38,760–$59,190 | $53,340 | −11% | 220 |
| Heavy Equipment OperatorOperating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators (47-2073) | $48,920 | $39,290–$64,660 | $59,850 | −18% | 1,990 |
| Construction LaborerConstruction Laborers (47-2061) | $43,480 | $30,350–$57,700 | $47,120 | −8% | 7,150 |
| Cement Mason / Concrete FinisherCement Masons and Concrete Finishers (47-2051) | $49,260 | $38,260–$62,020 | $57,020 | −14% | 980 |
| Dump Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $55,630 | $38,620–$78,160 | $58,640 | −5% | 13,100 |
| Paving ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $77,760 | $51,490–$104,800 | $79,920 | −3% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville paving and asphalt hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why marine/port experience is the real differentiator here
The hub's own published rate is specifically for marine/port equipment operators, not general paving - port access roads and berth programs require a different scope than standard logistics-corridor site paving.
Why we treat the equipment operator rate as a proxy, not a paving-specific figure
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. We use the published heavy equipment operator (marine/port) rate - the closest documented comparable - and label it plainly as a proxy rather than inventing a paving-specific number.
Why JAXPORT's harbor and berth programs concentrate demand
The harbor deepening and air-draft clearance program (multi-hundred-million) and Berth 21 ($60M) both carry port access-road paving scope on overlapping timelines through early 2027.
What this means for sourcing
Operators with marine/port project history are the harder find compared to standard logistics-corridor paving crews. We source against verified equipment certifications and documented port project history, not resume claims.
Realistic timelines
Standard paving and heavy equipment roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer. Marine/port-experienced operators run longer given the specialized scope and concurrent JAXPORT demand. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The paving and asphalt positions we fill, most often.
Across all Jacksonville paving and asphalt clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months. Marine/port-experienced operators are the roles in genuine short supply.
- Heavy equipment operator (marine/port)
- Port access-road paving crew lead
- Logistics-corridor sitework specialist
- Plant manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Jacksonville, see the Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Jacksonville's paving and asphalt segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Jacksonville paving work, we also confirm whether the role sits within JAXPORT marine/port scope or standard logistics-corridor work, since those source differently.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Jacksonville paving and asphalt candidate network, filtered for verified equipment certifications and marine/port or logistics-corridor project history.
- Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real equipment certifications and project history rather than a line on a resume.
- Offer and close. Standard roles close in 4-6 weeks. Marine/port-experienced operators run longer given the specialized scope.
Jacksonville runs 6% more paving and asphalt workers per job than the country as a whole — 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 Jacksonville's paving and asphalt market compares
In 2023 the Jacksonville metro had 73 highway, street and bridge contractors (counted by business location), with about 2,868 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $74,191, 15.8% below the national average of $88,070 for the same kind of employer. Headcount fell 13.2% over the year even as it grew 3.5% nationally, which usually means people leaving the trade or moving to other markets rather than a lack of work. The number of these employers fell 5.2%, as firms merged, closed or moved out. That works out to 4.3 per 100,000 residents against 3.6 nationally, a crowded field where experienced people get approached often. These firms account for 5.8% of all construction employment in the metro.
Among the 81 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Jacksonville ranks 37th for headcount, 57th for median pay and 40th for concentration for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 570 | $46,810 | 0.75 | 203 |
| Tampa | 370 | $47,050 | 0.96 | 101 |
| Orlando | 370 | $47,390 | 0.96 | 95 |
| Jacksonville | 220 | $47,300 | 1.06 | 73 |
| Lakeland | 140 | $44,180 | 1.92 | 25 |
| Deltona-Daytona | 110 | $49,850 | 1.80 | 29 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers | 90 | $47,730 | 1.13 | 24 |
| North Port-Sarasota | – | $48,370 | – | 32 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne | – | $46,970 | – | 17 |
| Port St. Lucie | – | – | – | 17 |
| Pensacola | – | – | – | 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 Jacksonville, the pool is about the national norm for its size, and local employers have trimmed headcount. That usually means experienced people are available but cautious, so the stability of the job matters as much as the rate.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Jacksonville metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Jacksonville's paving & asphalt market has changed since 2018.
The number of highway, street and bridge contractors in Jacksonville rose from 62 in 2018 to 73 in 2023, up 18%, ahead of the 6% national rise. Headcount at those firms went down 22%, to about 2,868 people, so more firms are sharing fewer workers. Average annual pay there went from $59,502 to $74,191 (+25%), in step with the 24% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway, street and bridge contractors: business locations | 62 | 73 | +18% |
| Highway, street and bridge contractors: employment | 3,684 | 2,868 | −22% |
| Highway, street and bridge contractors: average annual pay | $59,502 | $74,191 | +25% |
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 Jacksonville.
Why is marine/port paving experience valuable in Jacksonville?
The metro's own data ties its published equipment operator rate specifically to marine/port work, distinct from standard logistics-corridor site paving - JAXPORT's berth and harbor programs require that specialized scope.
What is driving paving demand in Jacksonville right now?
JAXPORT's harbor deepening and air-draft clearance program (multi-hundred-million) and Berth 21 ($60M) are the named drivers, alongside standard logistics-corridor site paving for the warehouse boom.
What do paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators earn in Jacksonville?
BLS puts the Jacksonville median for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators at $47,300 a year, 11% below the $53,340 national median. That ranks 63rd of 89 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $38,760 to $59,190 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.5x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. Within Florida, Deltona-Daytona pays more, at $49,850.
Is it hard to hire paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators in Jacksonville?
It is about average. Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators are as common in Jacksonville as they are nationally (location quotient 1.06), with about 220 in the metro. The 73 highway, street and bridge contractors here average about 39 employees per location, which means a handful of large operators set the pace on pay. With 18% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which paving & asphalt roles pay the most in Jacksonville?
Of the roles we recruit for, Paving Foreman pays the most in Jacksonville, a $77,760 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Dump Truck Driver at $55,630, 28% below it. Construction Laborer is the lowest-paid field role at $43,480. Heavy Equipment Operator trails national pay the most (18% below).
How many highway, street and bridge contractors operate in Jacksonville?
BLS counted 73 highway, street and bridge contractors in Jacksonville in 2023, employing about 2,868 people between them. Up from 62 in 2018, a 18% increase against 6% growth nationally. That averages 39 people per location, so a few large operators dominate hiring. They pay an average of $74,191, 16% below the $88,070 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Jacksonville for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Deltona-Daytona (102 miles, about 110, $49,850 median), Orlando (125 miles, about 370, $47,390 median) and Lakeland (159 miles, about 140, $44,180 median). Orlando has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Deltona-Daytona pays 5% more, which is where Jacksonville employers tend to lose people.
Hiring paving and asphalt talent in Jacksonville?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you wages, timeline, and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.