Occupations · Construction and Extraction
Highway Maintenance Workers
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 47-4051.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 71% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $58,960 | 7,710 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $64,760 | 4,560 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $43,160 | 3,610 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $58,300 | 2,330 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $50,110 | 2,090 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $51,920 | 2,090 |
| San Juan-Carolina-Caguas, PR | $19,820 | 1,720 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $60,900 | 1,650 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $47,900 | 1,450 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $45,470 | 1,360 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY | $49,920 | 1,260 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $60,210 | 1,200 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
- Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
- Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.
- Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.
- Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
- Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.
- Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.
- Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand.
- Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.
- Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides.
- Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.
- Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2017-07
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2017-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| road maintenance worker | 9312.1.3 | exact |
| road roller operator | 8342.7 | close |
| road construction worker | 8342.6 | close |
| road maintenance technician | 3112.1.11 | close |
| civil engineering worker | 9312.1 | close |
| snow-clearing worker | 8342.9 | broader |
| road marker | 9312.1.4 | broader |
| road sign installer | 9312.1.5 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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