Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 47-5012 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$67,891
$32.64/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Rotary Drill Operators salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$47K
P25$54K
P50$68K
P75$81K
P90$102K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
→
Demand: STABLE. Demand is stable -- manufacturing openings are at 3.7% (JOLTS, June 2026). A standard market: pay near the median, no urgency premium needed.
📈
Merit budget: Wages in manufacturing are rising about 3.3% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.9-3.4% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $67,891 to $81,370 (market median to the 75th percentile). Anchor on the median.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Rotary Drill Operators pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 4.4% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 3.3% wage growth of Manufacturing (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · STABLE
Manufacturing is running a 3.7% job-openings rate with quits at 1.5% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 3.4% to 3.7% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 2.2 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.
What changed recently
Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings eased to 3.7%, with nondurable goods driving the pullback. Quits steady at 1.5%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
Get notified when this number updates
Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The national median salary for Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas is $67,891 per year ($32.64/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $53,810 and $81,370 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $101,858 per year. There are approximately 12,600 rotary drill operators, oil and gas employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove underground oil and gas, or remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+0.2%
Little or no change
Annual openings
1K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
13K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
Less than 5 years
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Support Activities for Mining
NAICS 213100
9K
$67,760
Oil and Gas Extraction
NAICS 211100
2K
$76,940
Other Specialty Trade Contractors
NAICS 238900
200
$61,970
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services
NAICS 541300
180
$66,160
Other Pipeline Transportation
NAICS 486900
150
$100,570
Wage range across top 5 industries: $61,970 to $100,570 (62% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$22.60
$47,008
P25
$25.87
$53,810
P50MEDIAN
$32.64
$67,891
P75
$39.12
$81,370
P90
$48.97
$101,858
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · manufacturing sector
Stable
Openings Rate
3.7%
Quits Rate
1.5%
Manufacturing openings eased to 481K (-36K) in June, rate 3.7%, with nondurable goods driving the pullback (-55K). Quits held at 1.5%. The sector remains stable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average rotary drill operators, oil and gas salary?
The national median salary for Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas is $67,891 per year ($32.64/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $53,810 and $81,370 annually.
How much do top-earning rotary drill operators, oil and gas make?
The 90th percentile salary for Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas is $101,858 per year ($48.97/hr). The 75th percentile is $81,370 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for rotary drill operators, oil and gas?
Entry-level Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas (10th percentile) earn approximately $47,008 per year ($22.60/hr). The 25th percentile is $53,810 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
