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The national median salary for Continuous Mining Machine Operators is $61,818 per year ($29.72/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $51,605 and $77,563 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $86,216 per year. There are approximately 14,000 continuous mining machine operators employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+0.6%
Little or no change
Annual openings
2K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
15K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
1% from new growth99% 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
None
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
Metal Ore Mining
NAICS 212200
6K
$62,360
Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying
NAICS 212300
4K
$57,730
Coal Mining
NAICS 212100
2K
$73,970
Support Activities for Mining
NAICS 213100
670
$62,250
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
NAICS 327000
90
$58,230
Wage range across top 5 industries: $57,730 to $73,970 (28% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$22.49
$46,779
P25
$24.81
$51,605
P50MEDIAN
$29.72
$61,818
P75
$37.29
$77,563
P90
$41.45
$86,216
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · manufacturing sector
Stable
Openings Rate
3.5%
Quits Rate
1.4%
Manufacturing openings ticked up to 462K (+19K) in March, with the rate at 3.5%. Hires rose to 310K. The sector has stabilized after late-2025 softening.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average continuous mining machine operators salary?
The national median salary for Continuous Mining Machine Operators is $61,818 per year ($29.72/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $51,605 and $77,563 annually.
How much do top-earning continuous mining machine operators make?
The 90th percentile salary for Continuous Mining Machine Operators is $86,216 per year ($41.45/hr). The 75th percentile is $77,563 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for continuous mining machine operators?
Entry-level Continuous Mining Machine Operators (10th percentile) earn approximately $46,779 per year ($22.49/hr). The 25th percentile is $51,605 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.