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Highway Maintenance Workers in Minnesota

Thinking about a career as a Highway Maintenance Workers in Minnesota? Here’s what you need to know. 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. Excludes “Tree Trimmers and Pruners” (37-3013).

What do Highway Maintenance Workers Make in Minnesota?

The highway maintenance workers working in Minnesota, wages run about $60,900 per year (or about $29.28/hour).Annual wages span from $47,380 at the 10th percentile to $70,140 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$47,380	$22.78
25th percentile	$54,330	$26.12
Median (50th)	$60,900	$29.28
75th percentile	$65,490	$31.49
90th percentile	$70,140	$33.72

The job concentration index in Minnesota compared to the national average — is 1.34, meaning that highway maintenance workers are more concentrated here than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, highway maintenance workers earn a median of $48,880 per year ($23.50/hour), above the Minnesota median.

Employment Outlook

There are roughly 108,425 highway maintenance workers across the United States. In Minnesota alone, around 3,860 people work in this role. That’s higher than the typical state, which employs around 2,110 highway maintenance workers.

Top Minnesota Metros for Highway Maintenance Workers

The metro areas below employ the most highway maintenance workers in Minnesota.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1,650	$60,900
Duluth, MN-WI	290	$60,590
Rochester, MN	150	$60,900
St. Cloud, MN	150	$60,900
Mankato, MN	90	$60,900

Top States for Highway Maintenance Workers Employment

View the states that employ the most highway maintenance workers work.

State	Number Employed
New York	14,200
Pennsylvania	11,210
Illinois	11,050
California	7,770
Texas	6,950
Ohio	6,600
New Jersey	5,780
Wisconsin	5,530
Missouri	5,300
Iowa	4,400
Michigan	4,060
Minnesota	3,860
Indiana	3,850
Mississippi	3,850
North Carolina	3,770
Virginia	3,640
Puerto Rico	3,200
Oklahoma	2,880
Alabama	2,700
Nebraska	2,650

Highest-Paying States for Highway Maintenance Workers

Where highway maintenance workers earn the most: highway maintenance workers.

State	Annual Median Salary
Connecticut	$63,770
Washington	$63,420
Oregon	$62,990
Alaska	$61,910
Minnesota	$60,900
North Dakota	$60,830
Montana	$60,730
Massachusetts	$59,240
California	$58,300
Illinois	$58,130

Skills

The most important highway maintenance workers skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Important knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

The abilities that matter most for highway maintenance workers, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Day-to-day, highway maintenance workers typically:

• 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.
• 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.
• Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.
• 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.
• Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees.

Work Activities

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Getting Information
• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Assisting and Caring for Others
• Developing and Building Teams
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others
• Selling or Influencing Others

Tools & Technology

Software and systems commonly involved: Hot technologies: Microsoft Excel

What Major Will Prepare You For This Career?

Several college majors map to this occupation:

• Ground Transportation

Related Careers

Other careers like highway maintenance workers include:

• Transportation Engineers
• Construction Laborers
• Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
• Pile Driver Operators
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
• Helpers–Electricians

Also Known As

Asphalt Raker, Caltrans Equipment Operator, Certified Flagger, Construction Flagger, Equipment Operator (EO), Flagger, Highway Maintainer, Highway Maintenance Crew Worker, Highway Maintenance Technician, Highway Maintenance Worker, Highway Technician (Highway Tech), Highway Technician Associate, Highway Worker, Hot Oiler, Lane Marker Installer.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 47-4051.00