Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 53-7031

Dredge Operators

Median pay sits 39% below the mid peer in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (neighbors include Air Traffic Controllers, Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers, Wellhead Pumpers, Crane and Tower Operators).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Dredge Operators: Air Traffic Controllers ($148K) , Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers ($62K) , Wellhead Pumpers ($70K) , Crane and Tower Operators ($68K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Dredge Operators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-7031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of c…
  2. 2. Start and stop engines to operate equipment
  3. 3. Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually
  4. 4. Pump water to clear machinery pipelines
  5. 5. Lower anchor poles to verify depths of excavations, using winches, or scan depth gauges to determine depths of excavations
  6. 6. Direct or assist workers placing shore anchors and cables, laying additional pipes from dredges to shore, and pumping water from pontoons

Dredge Operators: O*NET ranks Operation and Control first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-7031 - lead skill Operation and Control at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operation and Control 3.8
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 3.5
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.0
  4. 4. Coordination 3.0
  5. 5. Judgment and Decision Making 3.0
  6. 6. Active Listening 2.9
  7. 7. Speaking 2.9
  8. 8. Monitoring 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 4.1
  2. 2. English Language 3.4
  3. 3. Public Safety and Security 3.2
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.1
  5. 5. Production and Processing 2.9
  6. 6. Mathematics 2.8
Pay vs Transportation and Material Moving Occupations peers
-39%
vs mid peer median $81,410
This role $49,640/yr
$50K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
100
Annual openings
1,040
Estimated US jobs
Air Traffic Controllers
Highest-pay peer · $148K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Dredge Operators

1. Ohio $53,310
2. Alabama $50,030
3. Nebraska $45,290
4. Florida $52,800
5. Wisconsin $54,310
6. Iowa $57,990
7. Texas $65,580
8. Louisiana $48,590
9. New Jersey $63,810

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Wellhead Pumpers $69,960
  2. 2. Crane and Tower Operators $68,080
  3. 3. Air Traffic Controllers $148,080
  4. 4. Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers $61,770
  5. 5. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  6. 6. Ship Engineers $109,530

Among Transportation and Material Moving Occupations peers on this card, Dredge Operators sits 39% below the mid peer median ($81,410). Its own median is $49,640.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Ohio at $53,310. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Air Traffic Controllers at $148,080. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Dredge Operators pay-rank #29 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Dredge Operators sits at pay-rank #29 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 53-7031 · national median $49,640 · middle third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#29/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Dredge Operators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-7031

Ohio · top state for Dredge Operators

$53K published median

Alabama · #2 state pay

$50K · behind Ohio

Air Traffic Controllers

Highest-pay peer vs Dredge Operators · $148K

Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers

Lower-pay peer beside Dredge Operators · $62K

Compare Dredge Operators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Dredge Operators with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Dredge Operators

Against another occupation

Air Traffic Controllers card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dredge Operators mid-table among Transportation and Material Moving Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #29 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors ($50K), Bus Drivers, School ($48K), Sailors and Marine Oilers ($52K), Motorboat Operators ($48K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do dredge operators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Dredge Operators. Leading ones include: Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of c…; Start and stop engines to operate equipment; Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually; Pump water to clear machinery pipelines. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for dredge operators? ▼
For SOC 53-7031, O*NET importance scores lead with Operation and Control (3.8), Operations Monitoring (3.5), Critical Thinking (3.0), Coordination (3.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, English Language, Public Safety and Security. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Dredge Operators? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $49,640 as the national median for Dredge Operators. The published 10th-90th range is $41,080 to $74,140. Beside Air Traffic Controllers ($148,080), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Dredge Operators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Dredge Operators is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Dredge Operators? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Dredge Operators. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Dredge Operators? ▼
Ohio ($53,310), Alabama ($50,030), Nebraska ($45,290) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Dredge Operators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-7031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Dredge Operators. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics