Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 47-5049 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$70,138
$33.72/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other is $70,138 per year ($33.72/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $51,667 and $83,117 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $85,010 per year. There are approximately 3,180 underground mining machine operators, all other employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
All underground mining machine operators not listed separately.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-6.1%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
400
per year, on avg
Workforce today
4K
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
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 3 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Metal Ore Mining
NAICS 212200
2K
$80,140
Coal Mining
NAICS 212100
720
$73,820
Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying
NAICS 212300
170
$55,570
Wage range across top 5 industries: $55,570 to $80,140 (44% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$23.57
$49,026
P25
$24.84
$51,667
P50MEDIAN
$33.72
$70,138
P75
$39.96
$83,117
P90
$40.87
$85,010
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 underground mining machine operators, all other salary?
The national median salary for Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other is $70,138 per year ($33.72/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $51,667 and $83,117 annually.
How much do top-earning underground mining machine operators, all other make?
The 90th percentile salary for Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other is $85,010 per year ($40.87/hr). The 75th percentile is $83,117 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for underground mining machine operators, all other?
Entry-level Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other (10th percentile) earn approximately $49,026 per year ($23.57/hr). The 25th percentile is $51,667 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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