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The national median salary for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining is $74,506 per year ($35.82/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $61,402 and $79,144 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $87,734 per year. There are approximately 5,930 loading and moving machine operators, underground mining employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Operate underground loading or moving machine to load or move coal, ore, or rock using shuttle or mine car or conveyors. Equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-22.3%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
500
per year, on avg
Workforce today
6K
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
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Coal Mining
NAICS 212100
4K
$74,650
Metal Ore Mining
NAICS 212200
980
$82,920
Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying
NAICS 212300
930
$57,850
Support Activities for Mining
NAICS 213100
130
$74,460
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
NAICS 327000
80
$47,520
Wage range across top 5 industries: $47,520 to $82,920 (74% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$25.02
$52,042
P25
$29.52
$61,402
P50MEDIAN
$35.82
$74,506
P75
$38.05
$79,144
P90
$42.18
$87,734
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 loading and moving machine operators, underground mining salary?
The national median salary for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining is $74,506 per year ($35.82/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $61,402 and $79,144 annually.
How much do top-earning loading and moving machine operators, underground mining make?
The 90th percentile salary for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining is $87,734 per year ($42.18/hr). The 75th percentile is $79,144 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for loading and moving machine operators, underground mining?
Entry-level Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining (10th percentile) earn approximately $52,042 per year ($25.02/hr). The 25th percentile is $61,402 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.