Heavy equipment operator pay in Arizona after taxes: what you keep (2026)

The median heavy equipment operator in Arizona earned $59,900 a year in May 2024, which is $29 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 13,520 heavy equipment operators the BLS counts in Arizona earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $49,940 and $64,310. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Arizona's tax, and Arizona has a flat 2.5% state income tax.

What the median heavy equipment operator keeps in Arizona

For a single filer on the median $59,900, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 2.5% of gross at this salary. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Arizona ranks for heavy equipment operator pay

Of the 50 states, Arizona ranks 26 of 50 on the gross median for heavy equipment operators. The highest-paying state is Hawaii at $105,440 and the lowest is Arkansas at $45,170. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.

Across the border

The same job in the states next to Arizona, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

California, Nevada and Colorado leave a heavy equipment operator with more at the end of the year than Arizona does; California by about $13,942. Utah and New Mexico pay less once tax is counted. Pay is one line; rent is the other, and a higher median in a metro with higher rent can leave you with less.

Where the heavy equipment operator jobs are in Arizona

The BLS count of 13,520 heavy equipment operators is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa and Scottsdale, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($64,310 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Arizona openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

What people get wrong about heavy equipment operator pay in Arizona

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Arizona is $29 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($29) is what the typical heavy equipment operator makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $59,900 offer in Arizona is $48,616 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $50,114.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $57,900 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $62,900 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Phoenix pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Arizona, on one page

The Arizona page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in Arizona this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Arizona employers hiring from out of state.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Heavy equipment operator. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.