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.
What it pays
Highway Maintenance Workers earn a median of $24.16/hr — about $50,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $17.42/hr; the top 10% earn $34.60/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Highway Maintenance Workers earn a median of $24.16/hr — about $50,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $17.42/hr; the top 10% earn $34.60/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- 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.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the work happens outdoors. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0% of highway maintenance workers are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
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Quick questions
- How much does a highway maintenance worker make?
- The median pay is $24.16 per hour — roughly $50,500 a year, with the real range running from about $17.42/hr (10th percentile) to $34.60/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a highway maintenance worker?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a highway maintenance worker actually do all day?
- 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.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.