Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,282
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$12,458
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,822
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$60,740
Kept after tax
$48,282
Worth in national money
$50,822
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Utah is 26 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $60,740. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Utah, this sits in the middle: 226 of 487 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $60,740 you keep $48,282 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $50,822 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $60,840, since top earners drag the number up.
- Utah ranks 26 of 51 for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators at $60,740. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators ranks 226 of 487 occupations in Utah 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.
- Retained pay in Utah is $48,282 after the full tax stack, from $60,740. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $50,822 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $60,840 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $47,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,880 |
| This salary | $60,740 |
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 Utah | $48,282 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,985 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,645 |
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 | $57,376 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,990 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $60,740. The published range is $47,420 up to $75,880, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $48,282, from $60,740, 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 226 of 487 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $50,822, the adjusted value of that $60,740 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 226 of 487 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,420 to $75,880. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,282 from $60,740. 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 226 of 487 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $50,822 — the adjusted value of that $60,740 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 226 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,420 at the tenth percentile, $75,880 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 $50,822.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $48,282 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,420 to $75,880) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $50,822 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 $48,282 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.