Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
SOC 47-2071 · 2024-2034
Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $85,382per year
- Projected openings
- 1,280
- Projected change
- +7.1%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Monitoring
- Repairing
- Critical Thinking
- Troubleshooting
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $127,099 | 320 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $110,529 | 230 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $77,441 | 30 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $72,511 | 100 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $66,139 | 160 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $62,464 | 30 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $58,524
- A quarter earn under
- $66,011
- Half earn under
- $85,382
- Three quarters earn under
- $130,071
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $133,645
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction Laborers | $61,903 | 111,420 | +10.2% |
| Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators | $89,521 | 33,360 | +7% |
| Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | $64,399 | 20,640 | +3.1% |
| Pipelayers | $78,244 | 1,070 | 0% |
Programs that train for this job — 5
Heavy Equipment Operations (Level 1)
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Training Academy · Bakersfield · $1,950
HED130: Heavy Equipment Operator Truck Driver - Level 3
College of Instrument Technology · Bellflower · $19,999
HED110: Heavy Equipment Operator Truck Driver - Level 1
College of Instrument Technology · Bellflower · $9,999
HED150: Heavy Equipment Operator Truck Driver - Level 5
College of Instrument Technology · Bellflower · $35,499
HED120: Heavy Equipment Operator Truck Driver- Level 2
College of Instrument Technology · Bellflower · $14,499