Dallas vs. Houston
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 47-2073
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Dallas's median is 0.6% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Houston.
Dallas's median $51,370 buys $49,800 at national prices (price parity 103.1); Houston's $51,040 buys $51,700 (98.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Houston against Dallas.
| Dallas | Houston | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 11,510 | 14,000 | +21.6% |
| 10th percentile | $41,700 | $39,170 | −6.1% |
| 25th percentile | $47,730 | $46,810 | −1.9% |
| Median | $51,370 | $51,040 | −0.6% |
| 75th percentile | $60,400 | $61,900 | +2.5% |
| 90th percentile | $71,080 | $71,960 | +1.2% |
Sources
How this page was made
- Wage data
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
- Price parity
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- Full pages
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Dallas · Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Houston
Percentiles are reported exactly as released. Derived (price-adjusted) figures round to the nearest hundred. We take no payment for how any figure is presented.