Highway Maintenance Workers Salary
Construction and Extraction Occupations · 155K employed in the U.S.
Median annual
$50,260
Median hourly
$24
Average annual
$53,080
Typical range
$36,230–$71,970
Pay distribution
10th to 90th percentile, with the median marked.
What this role pays
The median annual salary for Highway Maintenance Workers is $50,260 as of May 2025, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. That works out to about $24 an hour at a full-time schedule.
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.
Most earn between $36,230 and $71,970 a year. There are roughly 155K people employed as highway maintenance workers in the United States. Use the state and metro pages below to see how pay changes by location, and the calculator to convert any hourly or annual figure.
Salary calculator
Convert your pay and see where it lands for Highway Maintenance Workers.
- Hourly
- $24.16
- Daily
- $193
- Weekly
- $967
- Bi-weekly
- $1,933
- Monthly
- $4,188
- Annual
- $50,260
$50,260 a year is around the 50th percentile for Highway Maintenance Workerss. The median is $50,260.
Highest-paying states
Median annual wage by state.
- 1Oregon$65,330
- 2Washington$65,300
- 3Connecticut$64,870
- 4Minnesota$63,150
- 5Illinois$61,700
- 6Massachusetts$61,500
- 7Montana$60,960
- 8North Dakota$60,630
- 9California$59,580
- 10Iowa$58,490
- 11Vermont$58,460
- 12Wisconsin$58,000
Top-paying metro areas
Median annual wage by metro area.
- 1San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$79,000
- 2Vallejo, CA$76,510
- 3Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$76,220
- 4Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$75,030
- 5Kankakee, IL$73,080
- 6Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$72,910
- 7Springfield, IL$71,320
- 8Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA$71,140
- 9San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA$68,720
- 10Albany, OR$68,600
- 11Napa, CA$66,830
- 12Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$66,550
Related job titles
Employers advertise Highway Maintenance Workers roles under these titles.
- Caltrans Equipment Operator
- Certified Flagger
- Construction Flagger
- Highway Maintainer
- Highway Maintenance Crew Worker
- Highway Maintenance Technician
- Highway Maintenance Worker
- Highway Worker
- Hot Oiler
- Lane Marker Installer
- Materials Handling Equipment Operator
- Oil Spreader Operator
- Quick Technician
- Road Builder
- Road Crew Member
- Road Maker
Related occupations
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$59,850
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$53,340
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators$70,070
- Pile Driver Operators$73,300
- Construction Laborers$47,120
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$49,880
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General$49,590
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$57,430
What a Highway Maintenance Workers does
- Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.
- Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
- Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.
- Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand.
- Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.
- Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
- Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
- Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Highway Maintenance Workers make?
- The median annual wage for Highway Maintenance Workers is $50,260 ($24 per hour). Pay ranges from about $36,230 at the 10th percentile to $71,970 at the 90th percentile.
- What is the average salary for a Highway Maintenance Workers?
- The average (mean) annual salary is $53,080, which is higher than the median because a small number of high earners pull the average up.
- Which state pays Highway Maintenance Workerss the most?
- Oregon has the highest median annual wage for this occupation at $65,330.
- Is Highway Maintenance Workers a growing occupation?
- BLS employment data for May 2025 counts about 155K people in this occupation. Projected growth is published separately in the BLS Employment Projections program.
- What does a Highway Maintenance Workers do?
- Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.; Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.; Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures..