Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,641
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$18,490
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,616
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — 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
$79,130
Kept after tax
$60,641
Worth in national money
$61,616
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Minnesota pays this job a middle wage of $79,130, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 32.21% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Minnesota, this sits in the middle: 159 of 490 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $79,130 the take-home is $60,641, which is worth about $61,616 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $79,070, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Minnesota's median for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators is $79,130, about 32.21% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators ranks 159 of 490 occupations in Minnesota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators on its $79,130 median: $60,641 retained after tax becomes $61,616 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $79,070 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $55,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,930 |
| This salary | $79,130 |
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 Minnesota | $60,641 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,498 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,757 |
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 | $73,647 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,571 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Minnesota earn under $79,130 and half over. The published range runs $55,960 at the tenth percentile to $101,930 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Minnesota's $60,641, worked from $79,130. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 159 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $61,616 uses one figure for the whole of Minnesota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 159.
- Figures are distribution medians for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Minnesota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $55,960 to $101,930; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Minnesota take-home of $60,641, on $79,130 for work ranking 159 of 490 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 159 of 490 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,616, worked from $79,130, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Minnesota address, on work sitting at 159 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $55,960 at the tenth percentile, $101,930 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $61,616.
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; Minnesota then takes its own share, leaving $60,641.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($55,960 to $101,930) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota'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 $61,616 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 $60,641 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota 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.