Careers / Highway Maintenance Workers
Highway Maintenance Workers — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$50,260
United States, 2025
Employment
154,960
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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.
- O*NET code
- 47-4051.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year
Typical tasks
- 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.
- 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.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$36,230
25th percentile
$43,500
75th percentile
$61,040
90th percentile
$71,970
Most important skills
- Operation and Control3.6
- Operations Monitoring3.5
- Monitoring3.1
- Coordination3.1
- Speaking3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Complex Problem Solving3.0
- Troubleshooting2.9
- Critical Thinking2.9
- Social Perceptiveness2.9
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9
- Quality Control Analysis2.9
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 7 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
7
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operation and Control | 3.6 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Coordination | 3.1 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.5 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Monitoring | 3.1 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Highway Maintenance WorkersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $79,000 | 360 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $76,510 | 100 | 2025 |
| Chicago, IL | $76,220 | 4,110 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $75,030 | 820 | 2025 |
| Kankakee, IL | $73,080 | 100 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $72,910 | 90 | 2025 |
| Springfield, IL | $71,320 | 180 | 2025 |
| Olympia, WA | $71,140 | 80 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $68,720 | 130 | 2025 |
| Albany, OR | $68,600 | 40 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $66,830 | 60 | 2025 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $66,550 | 90 | 2025 |
| Hartford, CT | $66,310 | 810 | 2025 |
| Kennewick, WA | $66,080 | 80 | 2025 |
| Champaign, IL | $65,730 | 290 | 2025 |
| Bridgeport, CT | $65,450 | 360 | 2025 |
| Bozeman, MT | $65,440 | 60 | 2025 |
| OR | $65,330 | 1,650 | 2025 |
| WA | $65,300 | 2,590 | 2025 |
| Portland, OR | $65,300 | 550 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Highway Maintenance Workers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.