Highway Maintenance Workers Salary
In St. Louis, MO-IL, highway maintenance workers earn $52,160 at the median, or about $25.08 an hour. The range runs from $39K at the entry level to $90K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $54,853 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,218/month, about 35.5% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $52K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About highway maintenance workers
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What this looks like in St. Louis
Highway maintenance workers pay in St. Louis tracks closely to the national median, $52K locally vs. $50K nationwide, a 4% difference. Rent runs $1,218/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 34.6% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Pay and costs are both near average, leaving limited margin for savings at the median wage.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for highway maintenance workers in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $48K | $52K |
| Springfield | $47K | $54K |
| Jefferson City | $48K | $54K |
| Joplin | $48K | $56K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level highway maintenance workers (10th percentile) start around $39K. Mid-career wages sit at $52K. Top earners bring in $90K or more, a $51K spread from bottom to top.
Highway Maintenance Workers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Highway Maintenance Workers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $65K | +30% | 1,650 |
| Washington | $65K | +30% | 2,590 |
| Connecticut | $65K | +29% | 2,130 |
| Minnesota | $63K | +26% | 4,610 |
| Illinois | $62K | +23% | 10,790 |
| Massachusetts | $62K | +22% | 2,000 |
| Montana | $61K | +21% | 1,140 |
| North Dakota | $61K | +21% | 1,240 |
| California | $60K | +19% | 8,150 |
| Iowa | $58K | +16% | 4,000 |
| Vermont | $58K | +16% | 1,170 |
| Wisconsin | $58K | +15% | 6,000 |
| Rhode Island | $58K | +15% | 620 |
| Utah | $56K | +11% | 1,240 |
| New York | $55K | +10% | 13,820 |
| Alaska | $54K | +8% | 50 |
| Michigan | $54K | +7% | 5,230 |
| Colorado | $52K | +4% | 1,990 |
| Idaho | $52K | +4% | 1,340 |
| New Jersey | $52K | +3% | 4,850 |
| New Hampshire | $51K | +2% | 1,230 |
| Arizona | $51K | +1% | 1,410 |
| Virginia | $51K | +1% | 3,400 |
| Nevada | $49K | -2% | 990 |
| Maryland | $49K | -2% | 620 |
| Maine | $49K | -2% | 1,620 |
| Ohio | $49K | -3% | 6,070 |
| Nebraska | $49K | -3% | 2,580 |
| South Dakota | $49K | -3% | 1,800 |
| Indiana | $48K | -4% | 4,380 |
| Wyoming | $48K | -4% | 820 |
| South Carolina | $48K | -4% | 2,290 |
| North Carolina | $48K | -5% | 3,750 |
| New Mexico | $48K | -5% | 1,470 |
| Pennsylvania | $48K | -5% | 11,140 |
| Missouri | $47K | -6% | 5,470 |
| Tennessee | $46K | -8% | 2,280 |
| Kansas | $46K | -8% | 1,960 |
| Texas | $46K | -9% | 6,630 |
| Delaware | $45K | -10% | 90 |
| West Virginia | $45K | -10% | 730 |
| Louisiana | $45K | -11% | 1,050 |
| Florida | $42K | -16% | 2,530 |
| Kentucky | $40K | -20% | 3,030 |
| Oklahoma | $39K | -23% | 3,180 |
| Georgia | $38K | -25% | 1,980 |
| Alabama | $37K | -26% | 2,730 |
| Arkansas | $36K | -29% | 860 |
| Mississippi | $35K | -30% | 4,160 |
Showing 1–10 of 49 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track highway maintenance workers salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a highway maintenance worker afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $52K, rent takes 34.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,100/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for highway maintenance workers in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new highway maintenance workers typically earn — is $39K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,344/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 52% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is highway maintenance worker a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $52K locally vs. $50K nationally, a 4% difference.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for highway maintenance workers?
St. Louis pays $52K median vs. the U.S. average of $50K — that’s +4%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $55K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do highway maintenance workers make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $52,160 a year, that works out to about $25 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $39,070, and experienced highway maintenance workers can clear $89,670. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $52K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,522/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 34.6% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a highway maintenance workers salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median highway maintenance workers salary is worth about $54,853 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do highway maintenance workers get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.