Occupation salary profile

Logging Equipment Operators

SOC 45-4022 BLS OEWS May 2025

Drive logging tractor or wheeled vehicle equipped with one or more accessories, such as bulldozer blade, frontal shear, grapple, logging arch, cable winches, hoisting rack, or crane boom, to fell tree; to skid, load, unload, or stack logs; or to pull stumps or clear brush. Includes operating stand-alone logging machines, such as log chippers. Logging truck drivers are included in “Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers” (53-3032).

National median · BLS
$49,740
▲ +1.08% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$53,190
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
21,060
Jobs (BLS)
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Pay range for Logging Equipment Operators

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay$35,170
25th$43,970
Median (50th)$49,740
75th$61,050
90th — top pay$74,300

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Daily—
Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Logging Equipment Operators

BLS projects employment of logging equipment operators to decline 3.8% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 3,700 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
29,300 → 28,200
-1,100 jobs
Projected change
-3.8%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
3,700
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
30.3% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 2)
Very Little to Some Preparation Needed. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Fastest-declining jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a high school diploma →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Logging Equipment Operators

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Operation and Control4.0
  • Operations Monitoring3.8
  • Equipment Maintenance3.1
  • Active Listening3.0
  • Monitoring3.0
  • Quality Control Analysis3.0
  • Troubleshooting3.0
  • Complex Problem Solving2.9
  • Critical Thinking2.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Mechanical4.2
  • Public Safety and Security3.5
  • Production and Processing3.4
  • Transportation2.7
  • Administration and Management2.3
  • Customer and Personal Service2.1
  • Engineering and Technology2.0
  • Mathematics1.9
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordSAP softwareBCS Woodlands Systems The Logger TrackerTradeTec TallyWorks LogsTradeTec TallyWorks TimeTracker

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: 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. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What logging equipment operators do

  • Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks.
  • Control hydraulic tractors equipped with tree clamps and booms to lift, swing, and bunch sheared trees.
  • Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness, and according to established industry or company standards.
  • Drive straight or articulated tractors equipped with accessories such as bulldozer blades, grapples, logging arches, cable winches, and crane booms to skid, load, unload, or stack logs, pull stumps, or clear brush.
  • Drive crawler or wheeled tractors to drag or transport logs from felling sites to log landing areas for processing and loading.
  • Fill out required job or shift report forms.
  • Drive tractors for building or repairing logging and skid roads.
  • Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear the tops off of trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired lengths.
Also called
Loader OperatorLogging Equipment OperatorSkidder DriverSkidder OperatorDelimber OperatorFeller Buncher OperatorHarvester OperatorLog Processor OperatorLogging Shovel OperatorYarder Operator
More job titles for this occupation (48)
Buncher OperatorChain HookerCutter OperatorDelimberEquipment OperatorFeller OperatorForder OperatorGrapple OperatorGrapple Skidder OperatorGroundspersonHook TenderLoaderLog Carrier OperatorLog Chipper OperatorLog Handling Equipment OperatorLog HaulerLog LoaderLog Loader OperatorLog ProcessorLog Stacker OperatorLog Truck DriverLogging Cable Skidder OperatorLogging Clam-Bunk OperatorLogging Crane OperatorLogging Excavator OperatorLogging Forwarder OperatorLogging LoaderLogging Operating EngineerLogging OperatorLogging Service OperatorLogging Slasher OperatorLogging SpecialistLogging Tractor OperatorLumber Carrier OperatorLumber Stacker DriverLumber Stacker OperatorMobile Equipment OperatorMobile Heavy Equipment OperatorProcessor OperatorShift StackerShovel LoggerSlasher OperatorStackerTimber Harvester OperatorTree Crusher OperatorTree Shear OperatorTree-Shear OperatorUnloader

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.