Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,861
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$9,019
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,188
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$47,880
Kept after tax
$38,861
Worth in national money
$40,188
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Georgia is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $47,880, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 20% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 310 among 492 occupations Georgia publishes pay for.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,880 you keep $38,861, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $40,188 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $49,660, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Georgia ranks 48 of 51 for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, with a median of $47,880 — about 20% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 310 of 492 in Georgia places operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Georgia income tax, retained pay for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators on $47,880 is $38,861. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $40,188 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $49,660 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,840 |
| This salary | $47,880 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Georgia | $38,861 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,652 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,646 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,652 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,990 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Georgia earn less than $47,880. The published range is $37,810 up to $62,840, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Georgia the take-home figure of $38,861, from $47,880, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 310 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Georgia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $40,188, the adjusted value of that $47,880 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 310 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Georgia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,810 to $62,840. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Georgia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,861 from $47,880. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 310 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Georgia, so $40,188 — the adjusted value of that $47,880 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 310 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $49,660, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,810 at the bottom tenth to $62,840 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Georgia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $40,188 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $38,861.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Georgia is $49,660. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,810 to $62,840) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Georgia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $40,188 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,861 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.