How much should I pay a highway maintenance workers in 2026?

A competitive 2026 offer for Highway Maintenance Workers is $50,253 to $61,048 (market median to the 75th percentile). BLS ECI shows manufacturing wages growing about 3.3% a year, so budget a similar annual increase to stay at market.

Is a salary competitive for a highway maintenance workers?

Compare it to the BLS OEWS range: below $43,493 is below market, $50,253 to $61,048 is competitive, and above $61,048 is above market for Highway Maintenance Workers.

How is highway maintenance workers pay changing in 2026?

Median pay for this role rose 2.4% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 3.3% wage growth of Manufacturing (BLS ECI). Manufacturing is running a 3.7% job-openings rate with quits at 1.5% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 3.4% to 3.7% over the past quarter.

Highway Maintenance Workers Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks

SOC 47-4051 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data

Median Annual Salary

$50,253

$24.16/hr

Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026

Is this a competitive Highway Maintenance Workers salary in 2026?

Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.

Check a salary or offer:$Competitive · ~P50

P10$36K

P25$43K

P50$50K

P75$61K

P90$72K

Drag the dot or type an amount above.

→

Demand: STABLE. Demand is stable -- manufacturing openings are at 3.7% (JOLTS, June 2026). A standard market: pay near the median, no urgency premium needed.

📈

Merit budget: Wages in manufacturing are rising about 3.3% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.9-3.4% merit increase to hold this role at market.

Our read

For a competitive 2026 offer, target $50,253 to $61,048 (market median to the 75th percentile). Anchor on the median.

Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.

How Highway Maintenance Workers pay is moving in 2026

Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI

Pay trend

Median pay for this role rose 2.4% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 3.3% wage growth of Manufacturing (BLS ECI).

Hiring demand · STABLE

Manufacturing is running a 3.7% job-openings rate with quits at 1.5% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 3.4% to 3.7% over the past quarter.

Pay spread

Top earners (P90) make about 2.0 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.

What changed recently

Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings eased to 3.7%, with nondurable goods driving the pullback. Quits steady at 1.5%.
Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: sector wages growing 3.3% per year, holding steady.

Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.

Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026

Next refresh: May 2027

Get notified when this number updates

Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

The national median salary for Highway Maintenance Workers is $50,253 per year ($24.16/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $43,493 and $61,048 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $71,968 per year. There are approximately 154,960 highway maintenance workers employed in the United States.

About This Role

BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018

Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.

Career Outlook

BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034

10-year growth

+3.0%

About as fast as average

Annual openings

12K

per year, on avg

Workforce today

159K

as of 2024

Why those openings exist

4% from new growth96% from people leaving the role

Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.

Typical entry requirements

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Experience

None

On-the-job training

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Industry Wage Breakdown

Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific

Industry	Workforce	Median Pay
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) NAICS 999300	110K	$49,500
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) NAICS 999200	38K	$53,100
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction NAICS 237300	4K	$49,210
Other Support Services NAICS 561900	520	$45,600
Other Specialty Trade Contractors NAICS 238900	470	N/A

Wage range across top 5 industries: $45,600 to $53,100 (16% spread)

Wage Percentiles

Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)

Percentile	Hourly Rate	Annual Salary
P10	$17.42	$36,234
P25	$20.91	$43,493
P50MEDIAN	$24.16	$50,253
P75	$29.35	$61,048
P90	$34.60	$71,968

Market Context Signal

JOLTS · manufacturing sector

Stable

Openings Rate

3.7%

Quits Rate

1.5%

Manufacturing openings eased to 481K (-36K) in June, rate 3.7%, with nondurable goods driving the pullback (-55K). Quits held at 1.5%. The sector remains stable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average highway maintenance workers salary?

The national median salary for Highway Maintenance Workers is $50,253 per year ($24.16/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $43,493 and $61,048 annually.

How much do top-earning highway maintenance workers make?

The 90th percentile salary for Highway Maintenance Workers is $71,968 per year ($34.60/hr). The 75th percentile is $61,048 per year.

What is the entry-level salary for highway maintenance workers?

Entry-level Highway Maintenance Workers (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,234 per year ($17.42/hr). The 25th percentile is $43,493 per year.

Related Salary Data

Compare with other occupations

Construction Laborers47-2061$47K/yr First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers47-1011$80K/yr Electricians47-2111$63K/yr Carpenters47-2031$61K/yr Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators47-2073$60K/yr Browse all 770+ occupations →

Highway Maintenance Workers Salary by State

Top 5 states by employment

New York13,820 workers Pennsylvania11,140 workers Illinois10,790 workers California8,150 workers Texas6,630 workers

About This Data

Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.

P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.

Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.

Next OEWS release: May 2027Verify on BLS.gov →

About CompSignal

CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.

Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.

Open the full app →About Falcon Incentives →Privacy Policy

Explore more occupations on CompSignal →

Free BLS wage benchmarks, JOLTS talent signals, and AI analyst briefs

CompSignal by Falcon Incentives · BLS data, made usable · Verify on BLS.gov