Hawaii · BLS May 2025
Also called operating engineer. SOC 47-2073.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 2,380 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators working in Hawaii. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.
Median pay · Hawaii
$115,860A year, or $55.70 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid | $62,390 | $30.00 |
| 25th percentile | $73,200 | $35.19 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $115,860 | $55.70 |
| 75th percentile | $121,780 | $58.55 |
| 90th percentileMost experienced and senior | $129,590 | $62.31 |
| MeanThe average, pulled up by the top | $102,020 | $49.05 |
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
A $115,860 salary in Hawaii, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.
Prices in Hawaii sit at 110 against a national average of 100, so $115,860 earned here buys what $105,374 buys at national average prices.
Common questions
The median wage for heavy equipment operators in Hawaii is $115,860 a year, or $55.70 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
On the median wage of $115,860, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $83,336 a year, or roughly $6,945 a month.
That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 28.1%.
Hawaii takes $7,001 of it in state income tax.
Yes. The median in Hawaii is 93.6% above the national median of $59,850.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Hawaii sit at 110 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
It is 1.15 times the median household income of $100,389. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in Hawaii run at 110 against a national average of 100, with rents at 125.3, so $115,860 here buys about what $105,374 buys at national average prices.
The top tenth earn $129,590 a year or more, against $62,390 at the bottom tenth.
Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Hawaii someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
The survey counted 2,380 of these jobs in Hawaii for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 23% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.
Sources