Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Median $60,190
Occupation · SOC 47-5022
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining: pay and where the jobs are
What excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$57,430 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $59,930
- Median hourly wage
- $27.61
- Mean hourly wage
- $28.81
- Employment
- 34,480
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 47-5022.
Check your pay
See where your pay falls among excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Enter your pay to see where it falls.
Use these numbers
How much do excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining make?
The median annual wage for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining was $57,430 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $41,600 and the highest-paid 10% more than $82,400. As an hourly rate, the median is $27.61. About 34,480 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in North Dakota ($90,380), Illinois ($80,600) and New Jersey ($80,310). North Dakota also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $41,600 | $20.00 | $3,467 | $2,967 |
| 25th percentile | $47,890 | $23.03 | $3,991 | $3,388 |
| Median | $57,430 | $27.61 | $4,786 | $4,027 |
| 75th percentile | $65,730 | $31.60 | $5,478 | $4,583 |
| 90th percentile | $82,400 | $39.61 | $6,867 | $5,567 |
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining: pay by state
50 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$80,834 take-home in national prices
2
$68,901 take-home in national prices
3
$65,197 take-home in national prices
Where a median excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 220 | $90,380 | $50,440 | $123,880 | $71,909 | $80,834 |
| Illinois | 1,310 | $80,600 | $46,130 | $93,290 | $61,687 | $61,713 |
| New Jersey | 740 | $80,310 | $54,220 | $123,590 | $61,875 | $56,867 |
| Wyoming | 420 | $78,230 | $57,700 | $88,000 | $63,865 | $68,901 |
| New Mexico | 270 | $76,350 | $44,840 | $85,880 | $60,119 | $65,197 |
| Massachusetts | 280 | $76,070 | $55,210 | $110,730 | $58,412 | $55,232 |
| Alaska | 140 | $74,680 | $42,680 | $106,110 | $61,096 | $59,688 |
| California | 790 | $74,500 | $54,390 | $142,600 | $57,538 | $51,967 |
| Montana | 150 | $65,850 | $40,990 | $92,910 | $52,731 | $55,714 |
| Connecticut | 280 | $65,710 | $46,930 | $85,040 | $51,785 | $49,981 |
| Washington | 640 | $64,270 | $50,970 | $93,150 | $52,929 | $49,461 |
| Nevada | 730 | $63,810 | $46,920 | $88,760 | $53,451 | $53,463 |
| Indiana | 1,530 | $61,910 | $48,940 | $90,350 | $50,128 | $53,711 |
| West Virginia | 650 | $61,330 | $46,030 | $79,320 | $49,536 | $55,350 |
| Oregon | 310 | $61,280 | $50,390 | $74,420 | $46,978 | $45,451 |
| Minnesota | 520 | $61,260 | $47,100 | $85,030 | $48,491 | $49,169 |
| Colorado | 820 | $61,020 | $49,400 | $94,930 | $48,965 | $47,514 |
| Arizona | 560 | $60,310 | $47,510 | $88,130 | $49,525 | $49,192 |
| Vermont | 250 | $59,790 | $44,760 | $71,050 | $48,652 | $49,666 |
| Rhode Island | 50 | $59,590 | $46,120 | $73,860 | $47,787 | $46,722 |
| Virginia | 1,150 | $59,480 | $40,410 | $83,080 | $47,366 | $46,849 |
| Iowa | 560 | $59,390 | $41,600 | $63,590 | $48,295 | $55,029 |
| Michigan | 880 | $59,040 | $45,730 | $71,090 | $47,360 | $49,222 |
| Idaho | 190 | $58,670 | $47,060 | $71,750 | $47,320 | $49,553 |
| North Carolina | Not published | $58,620 | $46,780 | $64,020 | $47,451 | $50,305 |
| New Hampshire | 350 | $58,540 | $48,010 | $83,530 | $49,217 | $47,249 |
| Nebraska | 300 | $58,370 | $46,800 | $65,820 | $47,304 | $52,500 |
| Wisconsin | 990 | $58,280 | $49,110 | $73,870 | $47,023 | $49,974 |
| Ohio | 1,120 | $58,240 | $45,610 | $97,020 | $47,818 | $51,542 |
| New York | 1,490 | $58,120 | $44,930 | $95,000 | $46,056 | $42,675 |
| Maryland | 730 | $57,610 | $41,600 | $75,730 | $46,099 | $43,921 |
| Missouri | 310 | $56,760 | $43,370 | $61,720 | $46,056 | $50,713 |
| Maine | 230 | $55,890 | $44,480 | $76,230 | $44,713 | $46,073 |
| Utah | 400 | $54,330 | $46,560 | $69,180 | $43,913 | $44,418 |
| Louisiana | 280 | $53,510 | $23,660 | $64,120 | $43,956 | $49,833 |
| South Carolina | 330 | $52,580 | $39,020 | $61,730 | $43,257 | $46,142 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,520 | $52,350 | $45,800 | $60,220 | $42,599 | $43,659 |
| Florida | 1,480 | $51,990 | $40,370 | $63,640 | $43,954 | $42,503 |
| Georgia | 1,180 | $50,290 | $44,270 | $61,990 | $40,827 | $42,399 |
| Tennessee | 550 | $49,500 | $40,800 | $76,000 | $41,953 | $45,666 |
| Texas | 5,030 | $49,000 | $38,760 | $67,560 | $41,552 | $42,811 |
| Kansas | 270 | $48,950 | $44,180 | $57,970 | $39,580 | $43,944 |
| Mississippi | 290 | $48,490 | $35,150 | $59,020 | $39,934 | $45,926 |
| South Dakota | 280 | $48,250 | $41,600 | $61,980 | $40,949 | $46,225 |
| Kentucky | 790 | $47,780 | $37,210 | $68,390 | $39,017 | $43,275 |
| Alabama | 410 | $47,770 | $36,770 | $59,000 | $38,592 | $43,449 |
| Oklahoma | 1,440 | $47,100 | $40,000 | $55,990 | $38,451 | $43,772 |
| Delaware | 130 | $46,900 | $36,480 | $70,440 | $37,750 | $37,823 |
| Arkansas | 250 | $46,170 | $37,690 | $49,700 | $38,057 | $43,775 |
| Puerto Rico | 130 | $35,870 | $27,220 | $65,830 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 47-5022. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.