Logging Industry Workers

Logging wages vary with the logger's skills, the company's payment system, and the weather.

In most parts of the country, workers who cut trees into logs or bolts are paid by the piece or the volume of work they do. Others are paid hourly wages that logging companies and independent contractors set for their employees. Union workers often earn more than non-unionized workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that median annual salaries for logging workers totaled $40,650 in May 2018, and ranged from less than $25,600 to $61,350 or more. Fallers earned the highest median annual wage at $44,080, followed by logging equipment operators ($40,510), all other logging workers ($39,750), and log graders and scalers ($38,220).

Earnings of more skilled workers, such as yard operators, are higher than those of less skilled workers such as choke setters. Yearly salaries for workers in areas other than the South are difficult to compute because the amount of work a logger can perform depends upon the season.

Many loggers are self-employed contractors. As such, they receive no benefits package and must obtain their own insurance. Logging workers who are employed by larger logging companies, however, may be offered certain benefits, such as health insurance.