Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining Salary and Pay
How much do Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining make?
In May 2024 the middle Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining worker earned $68,860 a year, the average was $68,470, and the survey counted 6,130 jobs. The 25th percentile is $59,130 and the 75th is $76,820.
What Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining actually pay, from the federal wage survey: a $68,860 median, the full percentile ladder, every state's table, and the metros where the jobs and the money sit, on one page.
Updated November 5, 2026
Salary converter for this occupation
Conversions use 12 months, 26 biweekly periods, 52 weeks, and 2,080 hours. No level in this occupation's ladder reaches the BLS top code, so every figure the converter shows is a published estimate rather than a floor.
The national wage ladder (BLS OEWS, May 2024)
| Pay level | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $48,310 | $23.23 |
| 25th percentile | $59,130 | $28.43 |
| Median (50th) | $68,860 | $33.11 |
| 75th percentile | $76,820 | $36.93 |
| 90th percentile | $82,900 | $39.86 |
Percentiles answer the question a single average cannot: where would a given Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining offer sit among all 6,130 workers doing this job? The survey top-codes at $239,200+ and withholds unreliable cells, shown as n/p in the table.
Employment and concentration
BLS counted 6,130 Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining jobs in May 2024, which is 0.00% of all U.S. employment in the survey. Work is most concentrated in West Virginia, where the location quotient is 57.62, meaning the occupation holds 57.62 times its national share of local jobs. West Virginia employs the most people outright, 1,610 of them, and the three largest state employers together account for 44.5% of the national total.
Pay inside the occupation is wide: $34,590 separates the ends of its ladder. The 90th percentile ($82,900) is 1.7 times the 10th percentile ($48,310), a gap of $34,590 a year. The mean of $68,470 sitting near the median of $68,860 tells you the top end pulls the average up: most workers cluster below the mean, and the high tail is thin.
Pay by state
Wyoming posts the highest median annual wage in the state table at $104,010, and West Virginia the largest headcount. The full table, sorted by employment:
| State | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 1,610 | 2.3 | 57.62 | $71,560 | $73,260 |
| Nevada | 810 | 0.5 | 13.39 | $79,150 | $80,840 |
| Pennsylvania | 310 | 0.1 | 1.31 | $67,380 | $68,780 |
| Kentucky | 280 | 0.1 | 3.52 | $66,480 | $67,510 |
| Ohio | 270 | 0.0 | 1.23 | $66,210 | $65,920 |
| Indiana | 230 | 0.1 | 1.80 | $56,150 | $52,150 |
| Alaska | 210 | 0.6 | 16.12 | $87,740 | $89,830 |
| Illinois | 210 | 0.0 | 0.89 | $76,390 | $75,820 |
| Virginia | 170 | 0.0 | 1.06 | $78,320 | $77,440 |
| Georgia | 150 | 0.0 | 0.75 | $53,050 | $51,690 |
| Missouri | 130 | 0.0 | 1.13 | $50,040 | $50,860 |
| New York | 130 | 0.0 | 0.35 | $55,390 | $56,960 |
| Colorado | 110 | 0.0 | 0.93 | $73,650 | $74,420 |
| Iowa | 110 | 0.1 | 1.79 | $48,010 | $45,420 |
| Oklahoma | 80 | 0.0 | 1.17 | $42,830 | $43,490 |
| Florida | 60 | 0.0 | 0.15 | $49,020 | $47,030 |
| Louisiana | 50 | 0.0 | 0.66 | $37,560 | $38,460 |
| Wyoming | 50 | 0.2 | 4.68 | $101,590 | $104,010 |
| Alabama | n/p | n/p | n/p | $57,160 | $58,730 |
The occupation in context
Ranked against all 826 published occupations, Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining stands number 737 by employment and number 290 by median pay. Inside its own major group, Construction and Extraction Occupations, the group median wage is $54,660 across 60 detailed occupations, so this occupation pays 26% more than its group median, and it supplies 0.1% of the group's 6,361,730 jobs. In 7 of the 19 states with a published median, the state median beats the national median of $68,860, which is the single best quick test of whether this occupation's pay is set nationally or locally: a high count means local markets regularly outbid the national figure.
Metropolitan areas: where the jobs and the pay sit
Beckley, WV is the largest metro employer with 210 jobs, 3.4% of the national total. Employment rank and pay rank are different lists: the second table re-sorts metros with at least 500 jobs in this occupation by mean pay, the floor keeping a handful of workers from posing as a market.
Largest metro employers
| Metropolitan area | Employment | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beckley, WV | 210 | $67,600 | $71,090 |
| Wheeling, WV-OH | 200 | $75,480 | $77,450 |
| Tuscaloosa, AL | 140 | $56,250 | $58,020 |
What the median pay looks like as a budget
Budget arithmetic on the median: $5,738 a month before tax, $2,648 biweekly, $1,324 weekly. Moving from the 25th percentile ($59,130) to the 75th ($76,820) is worth $17,690 a year, which is the realistic size of the experience and specialization premium inside this occupation. To turn any of these gross figures into spendable money, run them through the paycheck calculator; to weigh an offer against your current role, use the salary calculator; to test a raise against prices, the raise vs inflation calculator.
To place a real offer: a salary of $75,746 would sit between the median ($68,860) and the 75th percentile ($76,820), inside the top half but outside the top quarter of this occupation's ladder. An offer at the 25th percentile, $59,130, is $9,730 under the median, the typical size of the discount attached to entry-level or low-cost-market postings in this field.
Related occupations in Construction and Extraction Occupations
Pay for the neighboring roles in the same BLS major group: Plasterers and Stucco Masons, Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas, Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators, Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters, Carpet Installers, Continuous Mining Machine Operators. The full directory is on the Careers hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining?
$68,860 a year ($33.11), the middle wage among 6,130 counted workers in the BLS May 2024 estimates. The 75th percentile is $76,820 and the 90th is $82,900.
Where are Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining jobs concentrated?
By headcount, West Virginia leads with 1,610 jobs; by concentration, West Virginia leads with a location quotient of 57.62, meaning the occupation is 57.62 times as dense there as nationally.
What do the top 10% of Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining earn?
$82,900 a year or more. The gap between the 90th percentile and the median ($68,860) is the size of the senior and specialist premium in this occupation.
How does EveryCalc get Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining pay data?
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS bulk files for May 2024 (national, state, and metropolitan), downloaded November 5, 2026. Nothing on this page is self-reported by workers or scraped from job postings.