Logging Equipment Operators salary

SOC 45-4022 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$49,740

per year, nationally

Middle half

$43,970–$61,050

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

21,060

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-1.4%

4,200 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$35,170$74,300

10th: $35,170
25th: $43,970
Median: $49,740
75th: $61,050
90th: $74,300

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where logging equipment operators earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Washington	$75,140	107.0	1,150	2.38×
2	Illinois	$71,100	100.0	40	0.05×
3	Texas	$62,890	97.1	500	0.26×
4	California	$61,940	110.7	950	0.39×
5	South Dakota	$58,740	88.6	50	0.88×
6	Oregon	$58,720	103.4	1,860	6.98×
7	Louisiana	$58,600	88.2	770	2.96×
8	Minnesota	$58,590	98.6	320	0.81×
9	Montana	$56,530	94.6	190	2.72×
10	Idaho	$56,490	95.5	560	4.86×
11	Vermont	$52,910	98.0	60	1.58×
12	New Hampshire	$51,540	104.2	170	1.87×
13	Ohio	$50,590	92.8	260	0.34×
14	Wyoming	$49,650	92.7	40	0.93×
15	Colorado	$49,620	103.1	70	0.18×
16	Mississippi	$49,620	87.0	1,220	7.77×
17	Florida	$49,370	103.4	770	0.57×
18	Massachusetts	$48,960	105.8	—	—
19	North Carolina	$48,420	94.3	990	1.48×
20	Arkansas	$48,280	86.9	1,280	7.26×
21	Alabama	$47,810	88.8	1,860	6.50×
22	South Carolina	$47,650	93.7	920	2.94×
23	Michigan	$47,610	96.2	860	1.44×
24	New York	$47,540	107.9	290	0.22×
25	Maryland	$47,530	105.0	60	0.15×
26	Pennsylvania	$46,880	97.6	360	0.44×
27	Wisconsin	$46,360	94.1	480	1.20×
28	Indiana	$46,320	93.3	150	0.35×
29	Tennessee	$46,310	91.9	400	0.90×
30	Virginia	$46,090	101.1	570	1.02×
31	Georgia	$45,080	96.3	1,620	2.45×
32	Maine	$44,780	97.0	830	9.56×
33	Missouri	$41,770	90.8	140	0.35×
34	Oklahoma	$37,270	87.8	130	0.54×
35	West Virginia	$36,130	89.5	310	3.29×
36	Kentucky	$30,230	90.2	300	1.11×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where logging equipment operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for logging equipment operators

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Bellingham, WA	$77,310	103.3	50	3.98×
2	Longview-Kelso, WA	$76,980	97.5	180	31.56×
3	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$75,140	100.3	110	3.25×
4	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$74,790	103.7	110	6.42×
5	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$71,620	102.4	30	4.89×
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$64,520	105.4	290	1.78×
7	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$63,580	98.6	70	0.15×
8	Salem, OR	$62,740	103.6	100	3.96×
9	Redding, CA	$60,600	100.7	90	9.68×
10	Alexandria, LA	$60,410	85.7	60	7.02×
11	Corvallis, OR	$59,290	104.0	50	9.31×
12	Duluth, MN-WI	$59,130	88.8	40	2.46×
13	Medford, OR	$58,270	101.4	130	10.68×
14	Eugene-Springfield, OR	$58,170	101.6	250	11.52×
15	Albany, OR	$57,700	102.1	130	20.58×
16	Coeur d'Alene, ID	$51,690	98.3	70	7.09×
17	Bend, OR	$51,660	103.6	100	6.67×
18	Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC	$51,270	93.3	40	0.70×
19	Hattiesburg, MS	$51,260	87.6	70	8.81×
20	Jacksonville, FL	$50,450	99.5	100	0.99×
21	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$50,370	97.3	150	0.80×
22	Brunswick-St. Simons, GA	$50,060	87.7	60	9.41×
23	Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL	$49,990	84.8	40	4.67×
24	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$49,870	98.2	70	0.65×
25	Jackson, MS	$49,580	89.0	60	1.72×
26	Columbia, SC	$49,350	93.7	60	1.08×
27	Boise City, ID	$49,120	98.4	60	1.14×
28	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR	$48,890	89.4	80	1.69×
29	Florence, SC	$48,770	86.8	60	5.06×
30	Birmingham, AL	$48,600	91.6	110	1.61×
31	Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL	$47,990	97.3	60	4.96×
32	Eau Claire, WI	$47,500	92.8	40	3.02×
33	Portland-South Portland, ME	$47,470	101.9	50	1.31×
34	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$47,350	96.3	40	0.25×
35	Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC	$47,170	93.6	30	1.51×
36	Columbus, GA-AL	$46,760	89.3	70	4.49×
37	Montgomery, AL	$46,690	89.7	60	2.73×
38	Tuscaloosa, AL	$46,510	87.7	160	10.77×
39	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	$46,260	91.9	120	3.74×
40	Greensboro-High Point, NC	$46,060	92.9	50	0.91×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where logging equipment operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.