• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

47-4051 Highway Maintenance Workers

Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway. Excludes “Tree Trimmers and Pruners” (37-3013).

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National estimates for Highway Maintenance Workers
Industry profile for Highway Maintenance Workers
Geographic profile for Highway Maintenance Workers

National estimates for Highway Maintenance Workers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Highway Maintenance Workers:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
141,150	1.2 %	$ 21.32	$ 44,340	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Highway Maintenance Workers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 14.01	$ 17.65	$ 22.06	$ 23.32	$ 29.31
Annual Wage (2)	$ 29,130	$ 36,700	$ 45,880	$ 48,500	$ 60,970

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Industry profile for Highway Maintenance Workers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Highway Maintenance Workers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Highway Maintenance Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Highway Maintenance Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	97,770	1.82	$ 21.30	$ 44,300
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	34,650	1.58	$ 21.77	$ 45,280
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction	5,020	1.41	$ 20.35	$ 42,330
Other Specialty Trade Contractors	500	0.07	$ 17.81	$ 37,050
Employment Services	410	0.01	$ 16.28	$ 33,850

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Highway Maintenance Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	97,770	1.82	$ 21.30	$ 44,300
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	34,650	1.58	$ 21.77	$ 45,280
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction	5,020	1.41	$ 20.35	$ 42,330
Other Specialty Trade Contractors	500	0.07	$ 17.81	$ 37,050
Water, Sewage and Other Systems	30	0.06	$ 13.02	$ 27,080

Top paying industries for Highway Maintenance Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Rental and leasing services (5322, 5323, and 5324 only)	180	0.06	$ 33.66	$ 70,010
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	40	(7)	$ 26.55	$ 55,220
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors	(8)	(8)	$ 22.07	$ 45,900
Building Equipment Contractors	100	(7)	$ 21.79	$ 45,310
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	34,650	1.58	$ 21.77	$ 45,280

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Geographic profile for Highway Maintenance Workers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Highway Maintenance Workers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Highway Maintenance Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Highway Maintenance Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York	13,140	1.52	1.51	$ 23.75	$ 49,390
Pennsylvania	11,560	2.07	2.07	$ 21.99	$ 45,740
California	7,940	0.48	0.48	$ 26.32	$ 54,750
Ohio	6,730	1.29	1.29	$ 21.44	$ 44,590
Texas	6,210	0.51	0.51	$ 16.89	$ 35,130

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Highway Maintenance Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
South Dakota	1,910	4.54	4.53	$ 18.64	$ 38,770
Wyoming	850	3.26	3.25	$ 20.42	$ 42,470
Mississippi	3,080	2.80	2.79	$ 14.56	$ 30,290
Vermont	780	2.76	2.76	$ 22.44	$ 46,670
North Dakota	1,070	2.71	2.71	$ 23.73	$ 49,360

Top paying states for Highway Maintenance Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington	2,440	0.76	0.76	$ 28.64	$ 59,580
Connecticut	2,360	1.50	1.50	$ 27.56	$ 57,330
Illinois	6,080	1.08	1.08	$ 26.65	$ 55,430
California	7,940	0.48	0.48	$ 26.32	$ 54,750
Minnesota	4,900	1.79	1.79	$ 26.18	$ 54,460

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Highway Maintenance Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	5,360	0.62	0.62	$ 25.97	$ 54,010
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	3,150	1.19	1.19	$ 23.89	$ 49,680
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	2,390	0.42	0.42	$ 25.23	$ 52,480
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	2,340	0.55	0.55	$ 27.65	$ 57,520
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	2,240	1.23	1.23	$ 27.45	$ 57,100
Pittsburgh, PA	1,880	1.81	1.80	$ 23.03	$ 47,910
St. Louis, MO-IL	1,390	1.08	1.08	$ 22.48	$ 46,760
Cleveland-Elyria, OH	1,120	1.16	1.16	$ 24.41	$ 50,760
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY	1,070	2.14	2.14	$ 23.98	$ 49,880
Rochester, NY	1,060	2.26	2.26	$ 23.59	$ 49,070

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Highway Maintenance Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY	330	8.73	8.71	$ 20.81	$ 43,280
Glens Falls, NY	280	5.76	5.75	$ 21.00	$ 43,680
Kingston, NY	260	4.79	4.78	$ 23.75	$ 49,410
Utica-Rome, NY	490	4.30	4.29	$ 21.27	$ 44,250
Michigan City-La Porte, IN	160	4.13	4.12	$ 18.58	$ 38,640
Binghamton, NY	370	4.03	4.02	$ 21.28	$ 44,260
Bangor, ME	250	3.95	3.95	$ 19.49	$ 40,530
Johnstown, PA	160	3.40	3.39	$ 17.40	$ 36,190
Gettysburg, PA	100	3.24	3.24	$ 21.78	$ 45,290
Syracuse, NY	910	3.23	3.23	$ 22.45	$ 46,690