Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 45-4022

Logging Equipment Operators

O*NET task statements lead this Logging Equipment Operators card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Logging Workers, All Other, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Forest and Conservation Workers, Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Logging Equipment Operators: Logging Workers, All Other ($51K) , Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse ($36K) , Forest and Conservation Workers ($44K) , Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals ($37K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Logging Equipment Operators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 45-4022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks
  2. 2. Control hydraulic tractors equipped with tree clamps and booms to lift, swing, and bunch sheared trees
  3. 3. Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness, and according to established industry or company standards
  4. 4. Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear the tops off of trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired len…
  5. 5. Drive straight or articulated tractors equipped with accessories such as bulldozer blades, grapples, logging arches, cable winches, and c…
  6. 6. Drive crawler or wheeled tractors to drag or transport logs from felling sites to log landing areas for processing and loading
  7. 7. Fill out required job or shift report forms
  8. 8. Calculate total board feet, cordage, or other wood measurement units, using conversion tables
  9. 9. Drive tractors for building or repairing logging and skid roads

Logging Equipment Operators: O*NET ranks Operation and Control first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 45-4022 - lead skill Operation and Control at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operation and Control 4.0
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 3.8
  3. 3. Equipment Maintenance 3.1
  4. 4. Active Listening 3.0
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.0
  6. 6. Troubleshooting 3.0
  7. 7. Quality Control Analysis 3.0
  8. 8. Critical Thinking 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 4.2
  2. 2. Public Safety and Security 3.5
  3. 3. Production and Processing 3.4
  4. 4. Transportation 2.7
  5. 5. Administration and Management 2.3
  6. 6. Customer and Personal Service 2.1
National median after O*NET task lead
$49,740
/year · 9 published task lines above
Lead task: Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks
$50K
National median
↓ -1%
Growth 2024-2034
4,200
Annual openings
21,060
Estimated US jobs
Logging Workers, All Other
Highest-pay peer · $51K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Logging Equipment Operators

1. Montana $56,530
2. Idaho $56,490
3. Washington $75,140
4. Louisiana $58,600
5. Oregon $58,720
6. California $61,940
7. South Dakota $58,740
8. Illinois $71,100
9. Minnesota $58,590
10. Texas $62,890

Other Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations titles

  1. 1. Forest and Conservation Workers $43,680
  2. 2. Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals $36,670
  3. 3. Agricultural Inspectors $49,940
  4. 4. Agricultural Equipment Operators $41,730
  5. 5. Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse $35,660
  6. 6. Logging Workers, All Other $50,840

O*NET publishes 9 leading task statements for Logging Equipment Operators (SOC 45-4022). The national OEWS median is $49,740 inside Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Logging Workers, All Other, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Forest and Conservation Workers, Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals. Lead published task: Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks.

Employment Projections expect -1% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 4,200 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: Montana at $56,530. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Logging Workers, All Other at $50,840. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Logging Equipment Operators pay-rank #6 in Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations

Logging Equipment Operators sits at pay-rank #6 of 13 detailed Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 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 45-4022 · national median $49,740 · middle third of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations (#6/13). The day-to-day tasks above set this role apart from peers with a similar title.

Logging Equipment Operators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 45-4022

Montana · top state for Logging Equipment Operators

$57K published median

Idaho · #2 state pay

$56K · behind Montana

Logging Workers, All Other

Highest-pay peer vs Logging Equipment Operators · $51K

Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

Lower-pay peer beside Logging Equipment Operators · $36K

Compare Logging Equipment Operators

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

Role and task next reads

Logging Equipment Operators full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Logging Equipment Operators mid-table among Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #6 of 13 detailed Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Log Graders and Scalers ($46K), Forest and Conservation Workers ($44K), Agricultural Equipment Operators ($42K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do logging equipment operators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Logging Equipment Operators. Leading ones include: Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks; Control hydraulic tractors equipped with tree clamps and booms to lift, swing, and bunch sheared trees; Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness, and according to established industry or company standards; Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear the tops off of trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired len…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for logging equipment operators? ▼
For SOC 45-4022, O*NET importance scores lead with Operation and Control (4.0), Operations Monitoring (3.8), Equipment Maintenance (3.1), Active Listening (3.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Public Safety and Security, Production and Processing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Logging Equipment Operators? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $49,740 as the national median for Logging Equipment Operators. The published 10th-90th range is $35,170 to $74,300. Beside Logging Workers, All Other ($50,840), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Logging Equipment Operators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Logging Equipment Operators is -1%. Projected annual openings: about 4,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Logging Equipment Operators? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Logging Equipment Operators. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Logging Equipment Operators? ▼
Montana ($56,530), Idaho ($56,490), Washington ($75,140) 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 Logging Equipment Operators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 45-4022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Logging Equipment 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