# 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/highway-maintenance-workers
- SOC code: 47-4051.00
- Career family: Construction and extraction
- Median annual pay: $50,260 (10th percentile $36,230, 90th percentile $71,970)
- Projected growth: As fast as average, +3.4%
- Openings a year: 11,800
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCS)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 100 |
| Investigative (I) | 12 |
| Artistic (A) | 1 |
| Social (S) | 13 |
| Enterprising (E) | 8 |
| Conventional (C) | 42 |

## What you'd do

- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 85/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 85/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 82/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 81/100)
- Getting Information (importance 79/100)
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public (importance 76/100)
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment (importance 76/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 75/100)
- Assisting and Caring for Others (importance 74/100)
- Developing and Building Teams (importance 73/100)

## Skills

Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Coordination, Monitoring, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Quality Control Analysis

## Knowledge

Public Safety and Security, English Language, Transportation, Building and Construction, Education and Training, Administration and Management, Mechanical, Customer and Personal Service, Engineering and Technology, Mathematics

## Also called

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

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Ground Transportation](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4902) (CIP 4902, 213 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Pennsylvania College of Technology](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pennsylvania-college-of-technology-2096) | Ground Transportation | $54,938 | $62,389 | $12,000 |

## Related careers

- [Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/operating-engineers-and-other-construction-equipment-operators): $59,850 median pay
- [Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/paving-surfacing-and-tamping-equipment-operators): $53,340 median pay
- [Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/rail-track-laying-and-maintenance-equipment-operators): $70,070 median pay
- [Pile Driver Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/pile-driver-operators): $73,300 median pay
- [Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/septic-tank-servicers-and-sewer-pipe-cleaners): $49,880 median pay
- [Construction Laborers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/construction-laborers): $47,120 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.