Explore national salary, projected growth, education requirements, and career opportunities across the United States.
A concise view of this occupation’s national scale, compensation, and projected demand.
National median annual wage for this occupation.
Estimated jobs currently supported nationwide.
Projected employment change through 2034.
Estimated openings created each year.
The typical education, prior experience, and on-the-job training associated with entry into this career.
High school diploma or equivalent
None
Moderate-term on-the-job training
These are the highest-rated capabilities associated with success in this occupation. Scores are derived from occupational skill analysis and are measured on a 100-point scale.
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Understand the salary, outlook, education, and geographic opportunities shaping this career.
Pile driver operators work in a specialized construction trade with a relatively small national workforce of 3,000 people. The national median annual salary of $70,510 indicates that this role can offer solid earning potential, with some locations paying significantly more. Projected national employment growth of 4.3% suggests moderate expansion of opportunities over time. The role suits people who combine physical strength and stamina with fine motor skills and strong mechanical abilities, as well as those who enjoy problem solving and working with technical concepts in science and mathematics. Leadership, project management, and attention to detail are also important, making this a good fit for individuals who like coordinating work and maintaining precision in demanding environments. For those interested in related paths, similar occupations include crane and tower operators, pipelayers, adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders, packaging and filling machine operators and tenders, and metal-refining furnace operators and tenders.
Pile driver operators earn a national median annual salary of $70,510, but pay varies substantially by location. Among the top states by opportunity score, median salaries range from $59,910 in Virginia to $120,980 in Massachusetts. California and Washington also show high median pay at $110,340 and $111,080 respectively, while Texas sits in the middle at $66,140. At the metro level, some areas report even higher earnings. Median salaries reach $132,850 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro and $124,670 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro offers $121,900, and both Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA list median pay above $100,000. This range suggests that geography plays a major role in earnings for this occupation.
Pile driver operators have national employment of 3,000 workers, reflecting a relatively small occupation. Projected employment growth of 4.3% indicates that the field is expected to expand over the projection period. This same 4.3% growth rate appears in the listed top states and metro areas, suggesting fairly consistent projected growth in those highlighted regions. Annual openings are listed as 0 at the national level, which underscores the limited size of the workforce and suggests that new positions may be relatively constrained, even with projected growth. For individuals considering this path, the combination of modest employment growth and a small overall workforce points to a niche field where opportunities may be concentrated in specific locations rather than broadly distributed across all regions.
Location makes a clear difference for pile driver operators, both for pay and for the overall opportunity score. Among states, Massachusetts stands out with the highest median salary at $120,980 and an opportunity score of 65.87, followed closely by California with a $110,340 median salary and the highest state opportunity score of 67.38. Washington also offers six-figure median pay at $111,080, while Virginia and Texas report lower medians of $59,910 and $66,140 but still appear among the top five states by opportunity score. All of these states share a projected growth rate of 4.3%. At the metro level, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA leads with an opportunity score of 68.75 and the highest listed median salary of $132,850. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA also combine relatively high median pay with notable opportunity scores.
The typical education requirement for pile driver operators is a high school diploma or equivalent. Beyond this baseline, the role relies heavily on a specific mix of skills. Strong mechanical ability and fine motor skills are central, alongside physical strength and stamina. The importance of science and mathematics indicates that comfort with technical concepts and quantitative thinking can support performance in this career. Problem solving and decision making, combined with project management and leadership, show that workers often need to coordinate tasks, guide aspects of work, and make sound judgments in real time. Being detail oriented is also important for accuracy and consistency. Creativity and innovation round out the profile, suggesting that people who like finding new or better ways to approach technical and physical tasks may be well-suited to this occupation, provided they also meet the basic educational expectation of a high school diploma or equivalent.
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