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Map of South Dakota showing 2 metro areas with skilled trade pay data
South Dakota: 2 metros with trade pay data

Paving Equipment Operator pay in South Dakota

Statewide and by city · BLS, May 2025

$60,140statewide median a year
$28.92median an hour
#20of 49 states + DC
130paving equipment operators employed statewide

Statewide pay Government data

Paving equipment operators in South Dakota earn a statewide median of $60,140 a year, 20% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #20 of 49 states and DC. About 130 people work in the trade statewide.

Statewide pay range

$49,220Entry · 10th$54,83025th$60,140Median$69,68075th$74,660Top · 90th

States ranked near South Dakota

Massachusetts$60,950
Maryland$60,530
Ohio$60,280
South Dakota$60,140
Colorado$58,810
Wyoming$58,080
Maine$57,020

See all states on the paving equipment operators nationwide.

Pay by city Government data

BLS publishes paving equipment operator pay for 1 South Dakota metro: Sioux Falls.

MetroMedian payReal payJobs
Sioux FallsSOUTH DAKOTA · SD$58,120$64,12840

Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate

The job (national)

Blueprint-style drawing of a framed wall and roof with dimensions, illustrating paving equipment operator work in South Dakota
Paving Equipment Operator pay in South Dakota: $60,140 statewide median, BLS May 2025.

Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.

Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 0.9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,100 openings a year. Typical training: moderate-term on-the-job training.

Nationally, paving equipment operators have 19 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 78% below the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.

What the work is like Government data

How often paving equipment operators deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.

Outdoors, in all kinds of weatherVery often
Indoors with heating and air conditioningOccasionally
Very hot or cold conditionsOften
Working at heightsOccasionally
Climbing ladders, scaffolds or polesOccasionally
Cramped spaces and awkward positionsSometimes
Loud noiseOften
Hazardous conditionsOccasionally
Standing, bending, kneeling and walkingSometimes
SittingSometimes

Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).

O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.

Licensing in South Dakota Official source

The main state licensing office in South Dakota is the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. The state licenses electricians and plumbers. It can point you to the right license for paving equipment operators.

Official South Dakota licensing site ↗

Requirements for paving equipment operators vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.

Union membership

In 2025, 2.3% of wage and salary workers in South Dakota were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#51 of 51 states and D.C.), and 3.1% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only paving equipment operators.

BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.

Cities in South Dakota

Sioux FallsSOUTH DAKOTA · SD+9.5%population since 2020 · 2.0% unemployment

All trades in South Dakota.

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