SALARY DATA — SOC 47-5044
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
47-0000 Construction and Extraction Occupations
The 90/10 ratio for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining is 1.69× — this is a compressed-comp occupation where the wage band is narrow. Top decile earns $87,730, bottom decile $52,030. In flat-comp professions, title and tenure define the ceiling more than negotiation does. Push title, not pay.
BLS OEWS reference period: May 2025. Employment: 5,930.
Wage distribution — the receipts
National OEWS annual wage percentiles. "vs. median" column shows each percentile relative to the occupation's own national median — this is where your position in the band lives. Source and series IDs: methodology page.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs. median | Hourly (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th pct — bottom decile | $52,030 | -30% | ~$25 |
| 25th pct — lower quartile | $61,410 | -18% | ~$30 |
| Median — 50th pct | $74,500 | — | $35.82/hr |
| Mean — average | $71,240 | -4% | $34.25/hr |
| 75th pct — upper quartile | $79,150 | +6% | ~$38 |
| 90th pct — top decile | $87,730 | +18% | ~$42 |
Source: BLS OEWS national estimates. Annual wage ÷ 2,080 hrs = hourly estimate. Hourly-median is direct from OEWS when available; others are estimates only.
Pay by metro area
BLS publishes May 2025 wage estimates for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining in 5 metro areas; the 5 with the most jobs are below, ranked by employment.
| Metro | Jobs | Median | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beckley, WV | 200 | $74,130 | $62,750 | $80,860 |
| Wheeling, WV-OH | 140 | $81,100 | $65,040 | $84,890 |
| Tuscaloosa, AL | 120 | $57,730 | $50,720 | $61,110 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 40 | $47,910 | $36,930 | $71,080 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 30 | $80,480 | $46,260 | $80,480 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — metropolitan area estimates (oesm25ma/MSA_M2025_dl.xlsx). Jobs are rounded to the nearest ten and exclude the self-employed; a dash means BLS suppressed that percentile.
Pay by industry
Across 7 detailed industries with a publishable estimate, the 5 that employ the most Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining are below, with the median wage each one pays.
| Industry | NAICS | Jobs | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coal Mining | 212100 | 3,550 | $74,650 |
| Metal Ore Mining | 212200 | 980 | $82,920 |
| Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying | 212300 | 930 | $57,850 |
| Support Activities for Mining | 213100 | 130 | $74,460 |
| Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | 327000 | 80 | $47,520 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — national 4-digit NAICS industry estimates (oesm25in4/nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx), all ownerships combined. Industries where BLS suppresses the wage are omitted rather than shown as zero.
What it pays vs. what it buys
The wage is only half the number. Below, the metro median for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining is divided by that metro's BEA Regional Price Parity — the federal measure of what a dollar actually buys there. Nominal is what the job pays. Real is what it buys at local prices.
| Metro | Nominal | Prices | Real | Rank shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | $80,480 | 98.2 | $81,918 | — |
Top 10 of 1 metros by real wage. Rank shift = places gained or lost against the nominal ranking. Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025 metropolitan estimates; BEA Regional Price Parities (national = 100). Metros where BLS suppresses the estimate are omitted rather than shown as zero. Full data at /salaries-metro.json.
Is this job growing or dying?
BLS projects employment in Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining to move from 5,900 to 5,000 over 2025–2035 — -15.8% , with about 400 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted . Typical entry requirement: no formal educational credential.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 (2025–2035). Openings count growth and replacement need together, which is why a shrinking occupation can still hire. Full data at /employment-projections.json.
Salary FAQ
- What is the median salary for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining?
- The median annual salary for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining is $74,500, and the mean is $71,240 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025).
- What is the salary range for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining?
- Most Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining earn between $52,030 and $87,730 a year. The wage gap inside the occupation is a 1.69× ratio — workers at the 90th percentile earn 1.69 times those at the 10th (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
- Is employment for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining growing or shrinking?
- BLS projects Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining employment to shrink 15.8% over the 2025–2035 window, with about 400 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035).
- How many Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining jobs are there in the US?
- BLS counts about 5,930 workers in Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Figures from this page's OEWS / Employment Projections / BEA data, above. Methodology at /methodology#oews-salaries.
Related occupations
Other Construction and Extraction Occupations whose national median wage is closest to that of Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining: same SOC major group, nearest median first.
- Construction and Building Inspectors $74,690
- Pile Driver Operators $73,300
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers $76,170
- Boilermakers $76,410
- Roof Bolters, Mining $78,540
- Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other $70,130
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators $70,070
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers $79,920
The national wage distribution and the metro and industry tables above are BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining (SOC 47-5044): percentiles from the OEWS API series, metro and industry rows from the published bulk tables — how they are fetched, what OEWS leaves out (equity, bonuses, benefits) and how the 90/10 ratio is read are documented at /methodology#oews-salaries and #oews-breakdown. The other sections keep their own sources and periods: the cost-adjusted metro table divides OEWS metro medians by BEA Regional Price Parities (/methodology#burnout-index); the outlook and its FAQ entry are BLS Employment Projections for 2025–2035.
Methodology · About Office Blues · Meeting Tax Calculator · Daily Pulse
Raw JSON: /salaries/loading-and-moving-machine-operators-underground-mining-47-5044.json · License: CC BY 4.0 · Source: BLS OEWS · Cite as: Office Blues OEWS Salary Data, Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining, officeblues.net/salaries/loading-and-moving-machine-operators-underground-mining-47-5044
The Salary Negotiation Script at /products/salary-negotiation-script uses frameworks like these to build a case — this is the data layer.