How much do mine workers make in 2026?
General mine workers are matched to the BLS helpers, extraction workers series: OEWS May 2025 gives SOC 47-5081 a national median of $47,730 a year ($22.95 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $36,960 and the top 10% at $68,020 across just 6,700 workers. This is the helper grade — the people who support operators and craftsmen underground and on surface, moving supplies, handling ventilation curtains and rock dust, cleaning belts, assisting with roof control and generally keeping the section functioning. It is the entry point into mining and it should be treated as exactly that. The pay is reasonable for an unqualified entry role, but every other extraction occupation pays more, and the difference is training and certification rather than years served. Helpers who qualify on equipment, take mine examiner or foreman certification, or move into mine electrical and mechanical maintenance leave this band quickly. BLS also projects employment to fall 1.7% by 2034, so this is a shrinking grade even within a shrinking industry, and the roughly 700 openings a year that arise come from turnover rather than growth. The route through is deliberate credential accumulation from the first year. → Full mine worker career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $47,730 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Mine Workers earn a national median $47,730/yr ($22.95/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-5081); the P10 to P90 range is $36,960 to $68,020.
- This is the helper grade and the entry point: every other extraction occupation pays more, and the gap is closed by training and certification rather than by tenure.
- BLS projects a 1.7% decline in the grade by 2034, so the roughly 700 annual openings come from turnover in a shrinking category.
- Equipment qualification, mine examiner or foreman certification, and mine electrical or mechanical maintenance are the three routes out, and all are achievable within a few years.
US Mine Worker Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do mine workers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 47-5081; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-5081, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a mine worker earn at each career stage?
Helper pay follows how fast you leave the grade. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 47-5081.
By State
Which states pay mine workers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the national extraction helper median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Helper pay is set by the operation and the commodity rather than by a state labour market, and mining employment concentrates in a handful of counties within any given state.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($54,890), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay mine workers the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations. Mining operations are rural, so metro indices have little bearing on where these jobs are or what they pay.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a mine worker’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does mine worker pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Mine Workers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify mine worker wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a mine worker actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Mine Worker Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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