Chief Operating Engineer Salary
$62.5K - $73K
22% of jobs
$78.6K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$73K - $83.5K
5% of jobs
$83.5K - $94K
0% of jobs
$94K - $104.5K
0% of jobs
$104.5K - $115K
0% of jobs
$115K - $125.5K
21% of jobs
The median wage is $125.9K / yr.
$125.5K - $136K
34% of jobs
$136K - $146.5K
1% of jobs
$146.5K - $157K
2% of jobs
$157K - $167.5K
2% of jobs
$167.5K - $178K
13% of jobs
$62.5K
$124.5K
$176K
$119,748
/year
$57.57
/hour
Chief Operating Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$119,748
Columbus
Ohio
$115,664
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How much does a Chief Operating Engineer make?
As of May 28, 2026, the average annual pay for a Chief Operating Engineer in the United States is $119,748 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $57.57 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,302/week or $9,979/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $176,000 and as low as $62,500, the majority of Chief Operating Engineer salaries currently range between $75,500 (25th percentile) to $128,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $173,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Chief Operating Engineer varies little (about 52500), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
A Chief Operating Engineer in your area makes on average $115,664 per year, or $4,084 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $119,748. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Chief Operating Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Chief Operating Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Chief Operating Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Chief Operating Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Chief Operating Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Berkeley, CA, , with Sitka, AK, and San Francisco, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. San Francisco, CA, beats the national average by $21,335 (17.8%), and Berkeley, CA, furthers that trend with another $26,876 (22.4%) above the $119,748 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Chief Operating Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 6% between Berkeley, CA, and Richmond, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Chief Operating Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Berkeley, CA | $146,624 | $70.49 |
Sitka, AK | $144,258 | $69.35 |
San Francisco, CA | $141,083 | $67.83 |
Santa Clara, CA | $140,636 | $67.61 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $140,542 | $67.57 |
San Jose, CA | $140,343 | $67.47 |
Daly City, CA | $138,751 | $66.71 |
Santa Cruz, CA | $138,268 | $66.47 |
Arlington, VA | $137,982 | $66.34 |
Richmond, CA | $137,431 | $66.07 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Chief Operating Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Chief Operating Engineer job category, we found that Workday Developer jobs have average salaries similar than Chief Operating Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Workday Developer | $109,905 | $52.84 |
Chief Mechanical Engineer | $104,066 | $50.03 |
Assistant Building Engineer | $88,754 | $42.67 |
Chief Operations Manager | $63,456 | $30.51 |
Ceo Secretary | $45,945 | $22.09 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
