Job Title · City Detail
Equipment Operator I Salary in Austin, Texas
In Austin, the State of Texas reports 9 public employees holding the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I classification. Average annual base pay is $60,686, with a median of $60,000 and a range from $58,024 to $63,023. The largest employer of this title in Austin is TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
How Austin compares for the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I role
Across all of Texas state government, the average base pay for the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I classification is $60,686, calculated from 9 employees in 1+ agencies statewide. In Austin specifically the average sits at $60,686, which runs about 0% above the statewide figure for this role — a difference of $0.00 per year between an average Austin incumbent and an average Texas incumbent in the same classification. That gap is consistent with what you would expect given the mix of employers active in Austin and the cost-of-living posture of the metro relative to other Texas cities.
Compared to all public-sector employees in Austin (regardless of title), the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I role pays about 51% less than the citywide average of $122,907. That places this title below the citywide average, which is common for support, technical, and entry-level state classifications — the citywide figure is pulled upward by the state's senior medical, judicial, executive, and academic-leadership salaries. For an apples-to-apples comparison against other roles in Austin, see our city profile for Austin or compare against the same title in other Texas cities via the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I hub.
Within Austin, the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I classification appears at 1 different state employer: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. The single largest employer is TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, which accounts for 9 of the 9 reported records in this combination. Where multiple agencies employ the same classification, pay variation is normal — agencies set individual pay within the state classification plan's salary band based on tenure, market conditions, and any agency-specific salary supplements that have been authorized by the Legislature or by the agency's governing board.
Top Equipment Operator Is in Austin by pay
| Name | Agency | Annual pay | Hire date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Arguelles | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $63,023 | July 15, 2019 |
| Armando Gonzales | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $62,400 | September 21, 2005 |
| Adam Rendon | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $62,400 | September 16, 2019 |
| Archie Jameson | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $62,400 | November 19, 2018 |
| Crispin Marmolejo | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $60,000 | September 1, 2023 |
| Steven Broussard | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $60,000 | December 5, 2022 |
| Trent Matula | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $59,670 | September 20, 2021 |
| Kelly Morgan | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $58,260 | June 1, 2025 |
| Bobby Riley | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | $58,024 | January 1, 2007 |
Reading this number in context
The annual pay column on this page reflects what the State of Texas reports as the employee’s annualized base salary at the time of the most recent payroll snapshot. It does not include benefits, retirement contributions (such as TRS or ERS employer contributions), longevity pay, hazardous-duty pay, paid leave cash-outs, contract buyouts, or any supplements paid out of foundation, athletic, or grant funds — categories that can add materially to total compensation, especially in academic medical centers and senior university roles. Use the figures here as an apples-to-apples baseline for comparison; treat them as the starting point of a conversation, not the final word.
Two employees in Austin with the same EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I title can earn very different amounts for legitimate reasons. The State of Texas operates a position classification plan in which most titles map to a salary group with a defined minimum, midpoint, and maximum, and agencies are free to set individual pay anywhere within that band. Universities and elected-officials’ offices are exempt from the standard plan altogether and set pay independently. Tenure, prior agency service, market-pay adjustments approved under Texas Government Code Chapter 659, and acting-leadership stipends all contribute to within-title variation. For the full set of caveats, see our methodology.
If you want to compare what the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I role pays in other Texas cities, the EQUIPMENT OPERATOR I hub aggregates every reported incumbent statewide. To see what other classifications pay in Austin, the Austin city profile breaks down the local mix of employers and titles. For peer roles, the job-titles index is the master list.