Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other Salary and Pay
How much do Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other make?
In May 2024 the middle Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other worker earned $67,220 a year, the average was $67,830, and the survey counted 3,480 jobs. The 25th percentile is $50,660 and the 75th is $80,440.
One page for the whole Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other pay distribution: national ladder first, then all 10 state rows and the metro rankings, every figure from BLS OEWS May 2024.
Updated November 5, 2026
Salary converter for this occupation
Gross pay only, before taxes and benefits. The picker starts at this occupation's median ($67,220); the custom box accepts any annual figure, which is how you price an offer letter against the ladder below.
The national wage ladder (BLS OEWS, May 2024)
| Pay level | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $46,930 | $22.56 |
| 25th percentile | $50,660 | $24.36 |
| Median (50th) | $67,220 | $32.32 |
| 75th percentile | $80,440 | $38.67 |
| 90th percentile | $82,750 | $39.78 |
The five rows are five different workers in the same occupation, from the 10th percentile ($46,930) to the 90th ($82,750). BLS suppresses cells that fail its reliability rules (n/p here) and caps the highest wages at $239,200+ a year or $115.00+ an hour; in this ladder that top code appears at the very top rows only.
Employment and concentration
With 3,480 jobs nationally, Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other make up 0.00% of U.S. employment as BLS measured it in May 2024. The map is uneven: Minnesota alone holds 930 of those jobs, the top three states hold 39.1%, and the deepest concentration sits in Minnesota (location quotient 14.18, where 1.00 is the national average). A quotient above 2 usually signals a local industry cluster rather than evenly spread demand.
One in ten workers in this field earns $46,930 or less, and one in ten earns $82,750 or more, so the top-to-bottom ratio is 1.8 to 1 and the annual gap is $35,820. The mean ($67,830) versus median ($67,220) comparison shows a right-skewed ladder where senior and specialist roles lift the average in this occupation.
Pay by state
Every state with a publishable estimate is in this table, 10 of them, sorted by jobs. The pay leader by median is Alaska at $87,270; the jobs leader is Minnesota:
| State | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 930 | 0.3 | 14.18 | $72,230 | $80,440 |
| Nevada | 230 | 0.2 | 6.69 | $62,200 | $58,310 |
| West Virginia | 200 | 0.3 | 12.76 | $73,970 | $78,180 |
| Utah | 150 | 0.1 | 3.99 | $64,760 | $65,570 |
| Arizona | 130 | 0.0 | 1.83 | $70,140 | $62,490 |
| Alaska | 70 | 0.2 | 9.64 | $83,620 | $87,270 |
| Missouri | 70 | 0.0 | 1.00 | $58,890 | $64,080 |
| Pennsylvania | 70 | 0.0 | 0.49 | $57,630 | $66,070 |
| Kentucky | 60 | 0.0 | 1.27 | $57,920 | $55,410 |
| Alabama | n/p | n/p | n/p | $58,800 | $59,150 |
The occupation in context
Ranked against all 826 published occupations, Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other stands number 775 by employment and number 308 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 23% more than its group median, and it supplies 0.1% of the group's 6,361,730 jobs. In 3 of the 10 states with a published median, the state median beats the national median of $67,220, 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
Wheeling, WV-OH is the largest metro employer with 40 jobs, 1.1% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling, WV-OH | 40 | $68,770 | $64,670 |
What the median pay looks like as a budget
As a household number, $67,220 a year is $5,602 a month gross, $2,585 every two weeks, $1,293 a week. Moving from the 25th percentile ($50,660) to the 75th ($80,440) is worth $29,780 a year, which is the realistic size of the experience and specialization premium inside this occupation. The next step from a gross figure is a net one: run the $5,602 monthly figure through the paycheck calculator applies your state's taxes, the salary calculator compares two offers in any unit, and the raise vs inflation calculator tells you whether a nominal raise is a real one.
To place a real offer: a salary of $73,942 would sit between the median ($67,220) and the 75th percentile ($80,440), inside the top half but outside the top quarter of this occupation's ladder. An offer at the 25th percentile, $50,660, is $16,560 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
Sibling occupations in Construction and Extraction Occupations: Helpers--Extraction Workers, Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining, Extraction Workers, All Other, Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters, Helpers--Roofers, Floor Sanders and Finishers. Medians there are computed identically, so the comparison is apples to apples; the full set lives on the Careers hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average salary for Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other?
BLS publishes both centers: the mean annual wage is $67,830 and the median is $67,220 (May 2024). The median is usually the better answer to what a typical worker makes, because the mean is pulled by the highest earners.
Where do Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other earn the most?
At state level, Alaska posts the highest median at $87,270. At metro level, BLS publishes no metro estimates for this occupation.
How many Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other jobs are there?
3,480 nationally in May 2024. The biggest metro employer is Wheeling, WV-OH with 40 jobs.
Is $67,220 a good salary for Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other?
It is the exact middle of the occupation: half of the 3,480 counted workers earn more, half earn less. Against the occupation's own ladder, an offer above $80,440 is a top-quartile offer and one below $50,660 is a bottom-quartile one.