Construction and Extraction Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 47-2072

Pile Driver Operators

The published band from $48,790 to $124,600 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Pile Driver Operators: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers ($110K) , Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters ($64K) , Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining ($75K) , Tapers ($68K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Pile Driver Operators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 47-2072 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Move hand and foot levers of hoisting equipment to position piling leads, hoist piling into leads, and position hammers over pilings
  2. 2. Move levers and turn valves to activate power hammers, or to raise and lower drophammers that drive piles to required depths
  3. 3. Drive pilings to provide support for buildings or other structures, using heavy equipment with a pile driver head
  4. 4. Conduct pre-operational checks on equipment to ensure proper functioning
  5. 5. Clean, lubricate, and refill equipment

Pile Driver Operators: O*NET ranks Operation and Control first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 47-2072 - lead skill Operation and Control at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Building and Construction. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operation and Control 4.1
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 4.0
  3. 3. Monitoring 3.3
  4. 4. Equipment Maintenance 3.3
  5. 5. Troubleshooting 3.1
  6. 6. Active Listening 3.0
  7. 7. Coordination 3.0
  8. 8. Critical Thinking 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Building and Construction 4.1
  2. 2. Mechanical 3.6
  3. 3. Mathematics 3.6
  4. 4. Transportation 3.5
  5. 5. Engineering and Technology 3.4
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.4
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$48,790 to $124,600
median $73,300 · ~2.6× spread
$73K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
300
Annual openings
2,310
Estimated US jobs
Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers
Highest-pay peer · $110K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Pile Driver Operators

1. Louisiana $61,150
2. Virginia $59,910
3. Massachusetts $120,980
4. California $110,340
5. Tennessee $54,830
6. Florida $51,830
7. Washington $111,080
8. Alaska $78,080
9. Texas $66,140
10. Pennsylvania $93,550

Other Construction and Extraction Occupations titles

  1. 1. Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining $74,500
  2. 2. Tapers $68,270
  3. 3. Construction and Building Inspectors $74,690
  4. 4. Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers $109,910
  5. 5. Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas $67,890
  6. 6. Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters $63,800

The OEWS band for Pile Driver Operators runs from $48,790 (10th) to $124,600 (90th), about 2.6× wide, with median $73,300. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 300 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: Louisiana at $61,150. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers at $109,910. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Pile Driver Operators pay-rank #8 in Construction and Extraction Occupations

Among 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations with a published OEWS median, Pile Driver Operators is pay-rank #8, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third 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 47-2072 · national median $73,300 · upper third of Construction and Extraction Occupations (#8/60). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Pile Driver Operators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 47-2072

Louisiana · top state for Pile Driver Operators

$61K published median

Virginia · #2 state pay

$60K · behind Louisiana

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

Highest-pay peer vs Pile Driver Operators · $110K

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

Lower-pay peer beside Pile Driver Operators · $64K

Compare Pile Driver Operators

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

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Construction and Extraction Occupations titles sit near Pile Driver Operators at the top of the pay table? ▼
Pile Driver Operators is pay-rank #8 of 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining ($75K), Construction and Building Inspectors ($75K), Terrazzo Workers and Finishers ($76K), Boilermakers ($76K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do pile driver operators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Pile Driver Operators. Leading ones include: Move hand and foot levers of hoisting equipment to position piling leads, hoist piling into leads, and position hammers over pilings; Move levers and turn valves to activate power hammers, or to raise and lower drophammers that drive piles to required depths; Drive pilings to provide support for buildings or other structures, using heavy equipment with a pile driver head; Conduct pre-operational checks on equipment to ensure proper functioning. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for pile driver operators? ▼
For SOC 47-2072, O*NET importance scores lead with Operation and Control (4.1), Operations Monitoring (4.0), Monitoring (3.3), Equipment Maintenance (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Building and Construction, Mechanical, Mathematics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Pile Driver Operators? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $48,790 and the 90th at $124,600 for Pile Driver Operators (2.6× spread). The national median is $73,300. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Pile Driver Operators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Pile Driver Operators is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Pile Driver Operators? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Pile Driver Operators. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Pile Driver Operators? ▼
Louisiana ($61,150), Virginia ($59,910), Massachusetts ($120,980) 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 Pile Driver Operators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 47-2072. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Pile Driver 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