Start with the answer
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators pay in Hawaii and Kansas
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators is $111,360 per year in Hawaii. It is $49,070 per year in Kansas. Hawaii is 126.9% above Kansas on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-2071 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists Not published wage and salary jobs in Hawaii and 540 in Kansas. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
