Highway Maintenance Workers
Also called: Equipment Operator (EO), Highway Maintainer, Highway Maintenance Worker, Transportation Maintenance Specialist (TMS)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.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 19 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 3.4% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.8% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 96% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.4.3 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $37,430 | $30,970 to $45,550 | 2,730 |
| Alaska | $54,090 | $52,940 to $66,820 | 50 |
| Arizona | $50,850 | $45,540 to $56,660 | 1,410 |
| Arkansas | $35,740 | $29,620 to $41,600 | 860 |
| California | $59,580 | $49,550 to $76,510 | 8,150 |
| Colorado | $52,350 | $51,580 to $61,050 | 1,990 |
| Connecticut | $64,870 | $61,690 to $72,990 | 2,130 |
| Delaware | $45,450 | $38,660 to $55,870 | 90 |
| Florida | $42,210 | $36,940 to $46,900 | 2,530 |
| Georgia | $37,560 | $35,370 to $45,310 | 1,980 |
| Idaho | $52,050 | $47,930 to $59,440 | 1,340 |
| Illinois | $61,700 | $45,550 to $88,790 | 10,790 |
| Indiana | $48,480 | $44,660 to $53,310 | 4,380 |
| Iowa | $58,490 | $52,860 to $61,810 | 4,000 |
| Kansas | $46,050 | $39,320 to $48,550 | 1,960 |
| Kentucky | $40,400 | $37,200 to $46,750 | 3,030 |
| Louisiana | $44,790 | $34,940 to $57,700 | 1,050 |
| Maine | $49,030 | $42,720 to $53,770 | 1,620 |
| Maryland | $49,030 | $43,200 to $62,470 | 620 |
| Massachusetts | $61,500 | $50,160 to $70,070 | 2,000 |
| Michigan | $53,750 | $45,860 to $59,770 | 5,230 |
| Minnesota | $63,150 | $55,810 to $66,150 | 4,610 |
| Mississippi | $35,120 | $29,390 to $38,000 | 4,160 |
| Missouri | $47,470 | $40,960 to $51,580 | 5,470 |
| Montana | $60,960 | $59,400 to $62,610 | 1,140 |
| Nebraska | $48,650 | $45,900 to $55,120 | 2,580 |
| Nevada | $49,320 | $39,400 to $61,350 | 990 |
| New Hampshire | $51,050 | $48,110 to $58,900 | 1,230 |
| New Jersey | $51,720 | $41,250 to $65,730 | 4,850 |
| New Mexico | $47,740 | $40,670 to $53,710 | 1,470 |
| New York | $55,210 | $48,280 to $62,970 | 13,820 |
| North Carolina | $47,880 | $41,440 to $53,270 | 3,750 |
| North Dakota | $60,630 | $57,580 to $69,960 | 1,240 |
| Ohio | $48,880 | $44,160 to $59,910 | 6,070 |
| Oklahoma | $38,840 | $36,090 to $45,930 | 3,180 |
| Oregon | $65,330 | $58,200 to $70,320 | 1,650 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,690 | $40,410 to $59,040 | 11,140 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,840 | $21,840 to $22,210 | 2,730 |
| Rhode Island | $57,950 | $52,300 to $60,340 | 620 |
| South Carolina | $48,130 | $42,910 to $53,880 | 2,290 |
| South Dakota | $48,610 | $46,220 to $57,200 | 1,800 |
| Tennessee | $46,070 | $38,040 to $56,220 | 2,280 |
| Texas | $45,540 | $37,430 to $49,770 | 6,630 |
| Utah | $55,970 | $48,060 to $63,730 | 1,240 |
| Vermont | $58,460 | $49,210 to $60,660 | 1,170 |
| Virginia | $50,800 | $46,870 to $56,570 | 3,400 |
| Washington | $65,300 | $62,460 to $75,030 | 2,590 |
| West Virginia | $45,260 | $36,450 to $53,910 | 730 |
| Wisconsin | $58,000 | $50,370 to $62,390 | 6,000 |
| Wyoming | $48,190 | $46,220 to $58,700 | 820 |
Nationally: $50,260. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on none of its 19 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead. | Not published |
| Not much | Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures. | Not published |
| Not much | Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites. | Not published |
| Not much | Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders. | Not published |
See all 19 tasks
| Not much | Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures. | Not published |
| Not much | Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect markers to verify accurate installation. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers. | Not published |
| Not much | Blend compounds to form adhesive mixtures used for marker installation. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents. | Not published |
| Not much | Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 19 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 19 tasks fall under 17 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Apply protective solutions or coatings | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Perform general construction or extraction activities | |||
| Direct vehicle traffic | |||
| Operate construction or excavation equipment | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Maintain facilities or equipment |
Show all 17 activities
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Assess characteristics of land or property | |||
| Inspect completed work or finished products | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Disassemble equipment | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for highway maintenance workers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 3,583 moves out
- 1 Tour Guides and Escorts 9%
- 2 Sailors and Marine Oilers Low +3.2% 9%
- 3 Personal Financial Advisors Very high +1.4% 7%
- 4 Purchasing Managers Very high +4.0% 5%
- 5 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 4,137 moves in
- 1 Sailors and Marine Oilers Low +3.2% 10%
- 2 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators Low +1.5% 5%
- 3 Tour Guides and Escorts 5%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 5%
- 5 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 5% less than high school
- 88% high school
- 1% postsecondary certificate
- 5% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 20 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 8% less than high school
- 57% high school
- 23% some college
- 8% associate's
- 3% bachelor's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 842 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
2 programs: Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation and Flagging and Traffic Control.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
95.3% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 63.4% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 3.2% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/47-4051.00