Mining machine operators

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

45.4k

Average Age

40.5

Average Salary

$67,698

Average Male Salary

$67,985

Average Female Salary

$51,643

About

Mining machine operators are most often employed by the Coal mining industry. The average yearly wage for Mining machine operators was $67,698 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Mining machine operators by wage are Registered nurses, Surveyors, cartographers, & photogrammetrists, and Web developers.

Mining machine operators are part of the Construction & Extraction Occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of construction trades & extraction workers, Boilermakers, Carpenters, Carpet, floor, & tile installers & finishers, Cement masons, concrete finishers, & terrazzo workers, and 28 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Mining machine operators are Rural Nevada PUMA, NV, Far Southeast New Mexico PUMA, NM, and Belmont & Jefferson Counties PUMA, OH. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Mining machine operators are Rural Nevada PUMA, NV, Logan, Mingo, Wyoming & McDowell Counties PUMA, WV, and Far Southeast New Mexico PUMA, NM.

Natural resources, construction, & maintenance occupations Construction & Extraction Occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Mining machine operators and on wages and locations for those in the field. Coal mining is the industry that employs the most Mining machine operators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Mining machine operators, by average wage, is Oil & gas extraction. Mining machine operators are paid most in Matanuska-Susitna & Kenai Peninsula Boroughs PUMA, AK but are relatively concentrated in Rural Nevada PUMA, NV.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$67,698

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,575

In 2020, Mining machine operators earned an average of $67,698, $11,744 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Registered nurses make somewhat more than Mining machine operators while Web developers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Mining machine operators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.283

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Mining machine operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.283, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Mining machine operators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Mining machine operators.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Mining machine operators

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Mining machine operators.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Mining machine operators, by number of employees, are Coal mining, Support activities for mining, Nonmetallic mineral mining & quarrying, Metal ore mining, Oil & gas extraction, and Construction.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Mining machine operators, by average wage, are Oil & gas extraction, Metal ore mining, and Coal mining.

Industries by Share

45.4k

2020 Workforce

± 5,229

−2.67%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 16.6%

The number of people employed as Mining machine operators has been declining at a rate of −2.67%, from 46,624 people in 2019 to 45,380 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Mining machine operators employed by various industries. Coal mining employs the largest share of Mining machine operators at 32.4%, followed by Support activities for mining with 26.3% and Nonmetallic mineral mining & quarrying with 17.8%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Mining machine operators in the US. The average age of male Mining machine operators in the workforce is 40.5 and of female Mining machine operators is 41, and the most common race/ethnicity for Mining machine operators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

44.6k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,183

795

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 692

98.2% of Mining machine operators are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Mining machine operators.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Mining machine operators

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

73.7% of Mining machine operators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13.2% of Mining machine operators, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Mining machine operators.

Age by Sex

40.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.38

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 9.69

The median age of Mining machine operators is 40.5, and Male employees are generally 0.49 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Mining machine operators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Mining machine operators is Engineering but a relatively high number of Mining machine operators hold a major in Engineering Technologies.