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Heavy Equipment Op Salary in Nashville, TN

U.S. median $58,320/yr ($28.04/hr)

What a heavy equipment operator earns in Nashville, Tennessee depends on the machine you run, your union status, and how much overtime is on the table. See the live local pay below.

Checking live local pay...

National benchmarks

Median$58,320/yr ($28.04/hr)
Hourly range$19 to $48/hr
Bottom 10%under $39,850/yr
Top 10%over $99,930/yr

Local pay in Nashville moves with cost of living, union presence, and demand. The live figure above reflects what Nashville employers are posting right now.

Pay by experience

Apprentice / entry (0-2 yrs)Where the bottom 10 percent ($39,850) sits. Union operating engineer apprentices start near 60 to 70 percent of journeyman scale and get a raise every 6 months as hours and classroom credits add up, so pay climbs fast.$39,000 to $52,000/yr (about $19 to $25/hr)
Journeyman / mid (3-7 yrs)The national median of $58,320 lands right in this band. A journeyman who runs multiple machines well and shows up steady is worth the top of it, more in a union shop or on heavy-civil work.$52,000 to $72,000/yr (about $25 to $35/hr)
Experienced / master (8+ yrs)The top 10 percent earn over $99,930. Seasoned operators on cranes, fine grading with GPS machine control, or industrial jobs sit here, and union crane and pile driver operators push past it with overtime.$72,000 to $100,000+/yr (about $35 to $48/hr)
Foreman / owner-operatorCrew leads and grade foremen earn a premium over journeyman scale plus heavy overtime. Owner-operators who bill their own machine can clear more but carry fuel, maintenance, insurance, and hauling costs out of it.$90,000 to $140,000+/yr

Heavy Equipment Op jobs in Nashville

See Heavy Equipment Op jobs hiring in Nashville with pay shown upfront.

Heavy Equipment Op pay in nearby cities

Memphis, TNChattanooga, TNKnoxville, TN

Heavy Equipment Op pay in Nashville: FAQs

How much do heavy equipment operators make?

The median wage was $58,320 a year, about $28.04 an hour, as of May 2024 per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most operators earn between $39,850 and $99,930, depending on experience, union status, machine, and location.

Do heavy equipment operators make good money?

Yes, especially without a college degree. The median beats the all-occupations median, and a union journeyman running a crane or pile driver with overtime can clear six figures. Pay is strong wherever infrastructure and industrial work is heavy.

Can you make $100,000 as a heavy equipment operator?

Yes. The top 10 percent already earn over $99,930 a year. Union crane and pile driver operators, foremen, and travel operators pulling per-diem and overtime pass $100,000 regularly in high-scale markets like Chicago, New York, and the Bay Area.

What is the highest paying heavy equipment operator job?

Crane operators and pile driver operators top the pay scale. Pile driver operators had a median near $70,510 in May 2024, and experienced union tower crane operators earn $80 to $100 an hour on commercial jobs in major cities.

How much do heavy equipment operators make per hour?

The national median is about $28.04 an hour as of May 2024. The range runs from roughly $19 an hour for new operators to $48 an hour and up for the top 10 percent, with union scale in big markets reaching $50 to $85 an hour in base pay.