The average paving contractor in the United States earns $59,000 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $53,340. That works out at about $28.37 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: Hawaii averages $96,920 and Mississippi $40,780. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a paving contractor actually does for that money
Paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators mostly work for highway and municipal contractors rather than for residential driveway companies, which is why the published figure looks higher than a small asphalt outfit pays. Public work carries prevailing wage rules in many states.
What paving contractors earn, from bottom to top
An average hides the spread, and the spread is what matters when you are deciding whether to enter the trade or what to pay someone. Here is the full range BLS publishes.
| Percentile | Annual | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | $38,230 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $45,610 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $53,340 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $64,720 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $92,230 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Paving salary by state
Hawaii pays the most at $96,920 a year, and Mississippi the least at $40,780. Cost of living explains part of that gap and licensing rules explain a good deal of the rest.
| # | State | Average annual | Median annual | Hourly | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $96,920 | $111,360 | $46.60 | n/a |
| 2 | California | $94,440 | $83,130 | $45.40 | 1,400 |
| 3 | Washington | $90,790 | $90,530 | $43.65 | 530 |
| 4 | Alaska | $83,530 | $83,520 | $40.16 | 80 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $80,320 | $91,280 | $38.62 | 70 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $77,210 | $77,480 | $37.12 | n/a |
| 7 | Illinois | $77,180 | $73,060 | $37.11 | 950 |
| 8 | Idaho | $76,060 | $73,210 | $36.57 | 130 |
| 9 | New York | $72,330 | $62,760 | $34.78 | 4,530 |
| 10 | Minnesota | $71,850 | $68,180 | $34.54 | 830 |
| 11 | Missouri | $70,190 | $69,400 | $33.75 | 1,560 |
| 12 | Oregon | $69,920 | $63,310 | $33.62 | 520 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | $68,570 | $69,020 | $32.97 | 960 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $67,140 | $63,060 | $32.28 | 160 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | $64,620 | $60,950 | $31.07 | 560 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $64,440 | $62,080 | $30.98 | 260 |
| 17 | Maryland | $64,370 | $60,530 | $30.95 | 750 |
| 18 | Ohio | $63,010 | $60,280 | $30.29 | 2,370 |
| 19 | South Dakota | $61,370 | $60,140 | $29.51 | 130 |
| 20 | Maine | $61,100 | $57,020 | $29.37 | 250 |
| 21 | Iowa | $60,140 | $61,110 | $28.91 | n/a |
| 22 | Arizona | $59,760 | $52,140 | $28.73 | 170 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $59,120 | $58,080 | $28.43 | 160 |
| 24 | Montana | $58,300 | $55,920 | $28.03 | 260 |
| 25 | Indiana | $57,670 | $50,380 | $27.73 | 910 |
| 26 | Nevada | $57,210 | $51,400 | $27.50 | n/a |
| 27 | Colorado | $57,140 | $58,810 | $27.47 | 920 |
| 28 | Vermont | $56,820 | $54,830 | $27.32 | 70 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | $56,370 | $56,010 | $27.10 | 520 |
| 30 | New Jersey | $56,050 | $50,500 | $26.95 | 840 |
| 31 | West Virginia | $55,160 | $51,230 | $26.52 | 210 |
| 32 | Michigan | $54,880 | $54,220 | $26.38 | 1,720 |
| 33 | Utah | $54,760 | $48,860 | $26.33 | 410 |
| 34 | Kansas | $54,410 | $49,070 | $26.16 | 540 |
| 35 | Louisiana | $53,140 | $48,450 | $25.55 | 350 |
| 36 | Delaware | $51,570 | $54,020 | $24.80 | 150 |
| 37 | Nebraska | $49,810 | $45,760 | $23.95 | 390 |
| 38 | Virginia | $49,640 | $48,060 | $23.86 | 1,660 |
| 39 | North Carolina | $49,230 | $47,820 | $23.67 | 1,940 |
| 40 | Texas | $48,940 | $47,060 | $23.53 | 3,940 |
| 41 | Florida | $48,530 | $46,840 | $23.33 | 2,740 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $48,050 | $46,760 | $23.10 | 550 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $47,810 | $45,660 | $22.99 | 110 |
| 44 | New Mexico | $47,700 | $45,880 | $22.93 | 990 |
| 45 | Georgia | $47,540 | $46,100 | $22.86 | 1,270 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $47,340 | $46,950 | $22.76 | 630 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $45,850 | $42,510 | $22.04 | 1,730 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $44,060 | $44,010 | $21.18 | 490 |
| 49 | Alabama | $43,370 | $41,880 | $20.85 | 700 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $40,780 | $37,030 | $19.60 | 470 |
Where the money is: highest paying metros
State averages flatten out the difference between a city and the rural county next to it. These are the metro areas paying paving contractors the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $105,890 | $50.91 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $105,680 | $50.81 |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $98,470 | $47.34 |
| 4 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $94,450 | $45.41 |
| 5 | Anchorage, AK | $84,690 | $40.72 |
| 6 | Madison, WI | $81,540 | $39.20 |
| 7 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $80,770 | $38.83 |
| 8 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | $79,220 | $38.09 |
| 9 | Rochester, MN | $79,200 | $38.08 |
| 10 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $77,260 | $37.15 |
What moves the number
- Equipment operators need endorsements rather than a trade license, and commercial and highway work usually requires a contractor license and bonding.
- Asphalt is a warm-weather product, so the season is short and intense in the north and year-round in the south. That single fact explains most of the state spread.
- Highway and municipal contracts pay above residential driveways, and prevailing-wage public work pays above both.
- The bottom ten percent of paving contractors earn under $38,230 and the top ten percent clear $92,230. That gap is the trade telling you where the money is.
- Working for somebody else and working for yourself are different questions. These figures cover employed paving contractors on a payroll, so they exclude the self-employed, and in this trade a large share of the best operators are exactly that.
What you can earn running the business instead
The number above is a wage. Running the business is a different calculation: you take the full ticket rather than an hourly rate, and what you keep depends on how many jobs you fit in a week, how quickly you get paid and how much of your day goes on scheduling, estimates and chasing invoices instead of on the work. That is the part software actually changes. Owners who put scheduling, estimating, invoicing and automated follow-up in one place tend to run more jobs with the same crew, which is where the gap between a paving contractor wage and an owner income opens up.
Paving salary FAQs
- How much do paving contractors make a year?
- The median paving contractor in the United States earns $53,340 a year and the average is $59,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do paving contractors make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $28.37. Annual earnings are usually higher than that rate multiplied by a standard year, because overtime, call-outs and premium work are not in the base rate.
- Which state pays paving contractors the most?
- Hawaii pays the most at an average of $96,920 a year, followed by California at $94,440 and Washington at $90,790. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay paving contractors the most?
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA tops the list at an average of $105,890 a year, with San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at $105,680. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can paving contractors earn six figures?
- As an employee it is uncommon: the top ten percent earn $92,230. Owners are a different question, because they are paid on the job rather than on the hour, and owner income is not in these figures.
- Do these figures include self-employed paving contractors?
- No. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program covers wage and salary workers, so sole proprietors and business owners are excluded. In a trade with as many owner-operators as this one, that matters when you read the number.
- Where does this paving salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators" (SOC 47-2071). It is a survey of employers rather than of workers, which is why it is more reliable than self-reported salary sites.
All wage figures on this page are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. BLS suppresses figures in areas with too few employers to publish safely; those appear as n/a rather than an estimate.
