Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 47-5022 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$57,429
$27.61/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$42K
P25$48K
P50$57K
P75$66K
P90$82K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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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.
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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 $57,429 to $65,728 (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 Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline 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 9.3% 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 2.0 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
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The national median salary for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining is $57,429 per year ($27.61/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $47,902 and $65,728 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $82,389 per year. There are approximately 34,480 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-0.4%
Little or no change
Annual openings
3K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
36K
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
High school diploma or equivalent
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
Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying
NAICS 212300
17K
$56,780
Other Specialty Trade Contractors
NAICS 238900
4K
$60,600
Coal Mining
NAICS 212100
3K
$70,050
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction
NAICS 237300
1K
$51,630
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
NAICS 327000
990
$51,560
Wage range across top 5 industries: $51,560 to $70,050 (36% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$20.00
$41,600
P25
$23.03
$47,902
P50MEDIAN
$27.61
$57,429
P75
$31.60
$65,728
P90
$39.61
$82,389
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 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining salary?
The national median salary for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining is $57,429 per year ($27.61/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $47,902 and $65,728 annually.
How much do top-earning excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining make?
The 90th percentile salary for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining is $82,389 per year ($39.61/hr). The 75th percentile is $65,728 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining?
Entry-level Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining (10th percentile) earn approximately $41,600 per year ($20.00/hr). The 25th percentile is $47,902 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.
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