Refuse Collector Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 1,336 US job postings by 216 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for refuse collectors: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 1,336 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for refuse collectors in US job postings is $56,000 a year (356 postings from 37 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $42,000 to $64,000.
Refuse Collector job postings in the US, October 2026
- $56,000
- Median advertised pay (356 postings)
- $42,000–$64,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 1,336
- US job postings from 216 employers
How much does a refuse collector make?
The median advertised pay is $56,000 a year, from 356 US job postings by 37 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $104,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 356 US refuse collector job postings: median $56,000 a year, middle half $42,000 to $64,000.
- Median: $56,000
- 25th percentile: $42,000
- 75th percentile: $64,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 2.0% |
| $30K–$40K | 14.6% |
| $40K–$50K | 21.2% |
| $50K–$60K | 29.1% |
| $60K–$70K | 18.5% |
| $70K–$80K | 1.3% |
| $80K–$90K | 0.7% |
| $90K–$100K | 2.0% |
| $100K–$110K | 7.3% |
| $110K–$120K | 1.3% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.7% |
| $150K–$160K | 0.7% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pay postings, annualised | $56,000 | $42K–$64K | 356 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors (53-7081) at $50,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a refuse collector?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
What does a refuse collector do?
Employers post these jobs as Baler Operator, Residential Driver, Front Load Driver, Landfill Operator, Solid Waste Driver and other titles. The largest specializations are Baler Operator (2%).
The closest official occupation is Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors (53-7081.00). Its most important tasks:
- Inspect trucks prior to beginning routes to ensure safe operating condition.
- Drive trucks, following established routes, through residential streets or alleys or through business or industrial areas.
- Refuel trucks or add other fluids, such as oil or brake fluid.
- Dump refuse or recyclable materials at disposal sites.
- Fill out defective equipment reports.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Other names for a refuse collector: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Baler Operator | 19 (8.8%) |
| Residential Driver | 17 (7.9%) |
| Front Load Driver | 14 (6.5%) |
| Landfill Operator | 12 (5.6%) |
| Refuse Collector | 11 (5.1%) |
| Solid Waste Driver | 9 (4.2%) |
| Garbage Truck Driver | 8 (3.7%) |
| Landfill Equipment Operator | 8 (3.7%) |
| Solid Waste Operator | 8 (3.7%) |
| Roll Off Driver | 7 (3.2%) |
| Trash Collector | 6 (2.8%) |
| SOLID WASTE EQUIPMENT OPERATOR | 6 (2.8%) |
| Sanitation Driver | 6 (2.8%) |
| Driver | 6 (2.8%) |
| Commercial Driver | 6 (2.8%) |
| CDL Driver | 6 (2.8%) |
| Landfill Laborer | 6 (2.8%) |
| Loader | 6 (2.8%) |
| Swing Driver | 6 (2.8%) |
| Driver Helper | 5 (2.3%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Refuse Collector compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refuse Collector | $56K | – | 1,336 | – |
| Truck Driver | $27.00/hr | 2 years | 34,157 | 12 |
| Heavy Equipment Operator | $27.00/hr | 2 years | 5,295 | 12 |
| Environmental Technician | – | 2 years | 736 | 8 |
| Health and Safety Specialist | $100K | 3 years | 7,666 | 8 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Truck Driver | 12 | $27.00/hr |
| Heavy Equipment Operator | 12 | $27.00/hr |
| Environmental Technician | 8 | – |
| Health and Safety Specialist | 8 | $100K |
| Custodian | 12 | $17.85/hr |
| Bus Driver | 11 | $22.66/hr |
Applying for refuse collector jobs?
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find refuse collector jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a refuse collector make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.