Equipment Operator Salary in Virginia

$27/hr

Virginia employee pay bands for earthmoving work, with national sector comparisons and questions about equipment duties and paid hours.

Change trade or state

What Equipment Operators Earn in Virginia

Virginia employee wages span $19.65–$37.62/hr, or $40,870–$78,250 a year, for construction equipment operation. These figures cover operating engineers and other construction equipment operators. Crane, forklift and paving work have separate wage benchmarks. Compare an offer's machine duties, regular hours and benefits with this range. Premium pay and benefits sit outside these employee wage figures. Write down the offered basic range and ask which equipment you will operate each day.

Hourly rates by level in Virginia

What each rung of the trade is paid, before overtime and per diem.

Apprentice · 0–2 yrs
$19.65–$23.10/hr
▲ 9.44% from last year
Journeyman · 4–8 yrs
$23.10–$30.45/hr
▲ 9.44% from last year
Master · 8+ yrs
$30.45–$37.62/hr
▲ 9.44% from last year

Find Equipment Operator jobs in Virginia.

Browse open jobs

Where do you stand?

Enter your hourly rate to see how it compares to other equipment operators in Virginia.

What are you making?

Type your hourly rate. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere — it stays in your browser.

$/ hr

Use your base rate, not what you take home after overtime.

You're right around the middle

$28.00 is above roughly 46% of this market. The top quarter starts at $36.00, and the median sits at $29.00.

10th
$18
25th
$23
Median
$29
75th
$36
90th
$45
YOU · $28.00
Your percentile
46th
Among this market
Your annual · 40 hrs
$58,240
Before overtime and per diem
Gap to median
−$2,080
Below the median

Calculate pay with extra credentials

Pick your level, add certifications, select shift — the estimate updates live.

1Your level

2Certifications you hold

3Shift & work type

4Overtime & per diem

Weekly overtime hours8 hrs
Per diem (per day away)$0

An estimate, not an offer. Overtime is paid at time and a half past forty hours.

American RecruitsEstimate
Journeyman Equipment Operator
Virginia · Day Shift
Base rate$26.78
+ OSHA 30-Hour Construction$0.91
+ OSHA 10-Hour Construction$0.30
+ Aerial/Scissor Lift (MEWP) Operator$0.08
Effective hourly$28.06
Straight · 40 hrs$1,123
Overtime · 8 hrs @ 1.5×$337
Weekly gross$1,459
Annualised · 50 weeks
$72,969
8 OT hrs/week · Virginia

Who pays the most in Virginia

Road, utility and commercial building employers offer different equipment assignments. These national figures help Virginia applicants compare those work settings and frame questions for interviews.

01 / 03$34.26/hr

Highway and Bridge Construction

Road crews move earth beside traffic and staged work areas. Ask Virginia highway employers about shift coverage and travel between projects. Find out whether the assignment involves bulk earthmoving or detailed grading around completed work.

+ Large earthworks
+ Infrastructure experience
– Traffic exposure
– Weather interruptions
02 / 03$29.68/hr

Utility System Construction

Water, sewer and other utility projects need controlled trench excavation and backfill. Discuss Virginia 811 procedures and coordination with pipe crews. Ask who handles locating issues when the machine reaches an unexpected service during a dig.

+ Trenching practice
+ Utility experience
– Buried services
– Restricted access
03 / 03$30.94/hr

Nonresidential Building Construction

Commercial building sites need excavation, grading and material movement. Ask about loader assignments and the space available around other construction crews. Clarify whether you stay with one machine or switch equipment as the project changes phase.

+ Varied tasks
+ Building experience
– Shared access
– Changing phases

Which states pay equipment operators the most

Median hourly across every state with a published guide for this trade. Cost of living is not netted out — compare take-home, not just the rate.

  1. 01California$41.90/hr
  2. 02Virginiathis page$27.48/hr

What each certification is worth

Sorted by payback speed.

CertificationRate bumpExtra / yearCostPayback
OSHA 30-Hour Construction+$0.91$1,893$1595 weeks
OSHA 10-Hour Construction+$0.30$624$595 weeks
Forklift / Rough-Terrain Forklift Operator (formal instruction)+$0.09$187$5917 weeks
Aerial/Scissor Lift (MEWP) Operator+$0.08$166$5919 weeks
Excavation & Trenching Competent Person+$0.24$499$19521 weeks
NCCCO Signalperson+$0.24$499$22524 weeks

What overtime actually adds

Past forty hours the rate is time and a half. Built from the rate above. At $27.48/hr.

40 hr week
$1,099
No OT
50 hr week
$1,511
+$20,610/yr
60 hr week
$1,924
+$41,220/yr
70 hr week
$2,336
+$61,830/yr

Questions workers ask

Does a registered operator apprenticeship pay me while I train?▾
Yes. Virginia Works standards for registered apprenticeship must include a progressively increasing wage schedule, so you earn while learning on the job. Ask the sponsor which step you start on and whether related instruction time is paid.
When do I earn overtime as an equipment operator?▾
After 40 hours in a workweek, if you are a covered nonexempt employee. Virginia's overtime law applies the federal standard of one and one-half times your regular rate, and the Department of Labor and Industry has enforced it since July 1, 2026.
Do I need a CDL to haul equipment between jobs?▾
Yes, if the truck and trailer combination is rated over 26,000 pounds and the trailer over 10,000 pounds, which requires a Virginia DMV Class A CDL. Ask whether the employer pays for CDL training and counts hauling time as paid work.

See Open Equipment Operator Jobs in Virginia

Verified positions matching this trade and location.

See Open JobsBuild My Profile — Free

Current BLS Virginia employee wages for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators, SOC 47-2073; excludes premium pay and benefits, with separate benchmarks for crane, forklift and paving operators.

Last updated October 29, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.