23

Wage and Employment Patterns in 

the Mining Sector

By Dina Itkin

Dina Itkin is an economist in the Division of Occupational Employment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics

The mining sector plays an important role in different 

areas of today’s U.S. labor market, as it did historically during the Nation’s development. As of May 2005, 

the mining sector employed a total of 539,960 people nationwide. The average hourly wage for all occupations, ranging 

from civil engineers to food preparation workers, is $21.73, 

but varies by occupation. This average places the mining sector in the top third of all 20 sectors of the economy. Occupational wages within the mining sector vary by location and 

industry. Wages for the highest-paying occupations in mining 

are higher than average, while wages for the lowest-paying 

occupations in mining are lower than average. Wages for occupations such as mining laborers are generally higher than 

wages of laborers with similar skill levels who work in other 

industries. 

Occupations in the mining sector

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey reports data for 245 occupations in the mining sector, ranging 

from management and legal occupations to production and 

transportation occupations. Among the most important occupations in the sector are mining laborers. Fifteen occupations 

in particular perform the labor-intensive tasks that are vital 

to the structure of the mining industry and account for onequarter of mining employment. One of them, roustabouts—

found mainly in the oil and gas extraction industry—is the 

largest occupation in the mining sector. These workers, who 

assemble or repair oil field equipment, number 29,170 in 

the mining sector and slightly more than 4,000 in all other 

industries. The 15 mining laborer occupations consist of 13 

occupations employing extraction workers and two occupations employing transportation and material moving workers. Mining laborers must be able to perform physical labor 

in dangerous conditions and are usually not required to possess a high school diploma. Most skills are learned on the 

job and are supplemented by a requisite 40 hours of formal 

safety training.1 The mining laborer occupations are listed in 

table 1 and include rotary drill operators, who have the highest laborer average hourly wage, $19.34; continuous mining 

machine operators, who rip materials from the mine face 

and load it onto conveyors or into shuttle cars; mining roof 

bolters, who install roof support bolts in underground mines; 

explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters, 

who detonate explosives to demolish structures or to displace 

earth; mine cutting and channeling machine operators, who 

cut or channel along the faces or seams of mines or quarries to facilitate the blasting of materials from the mines; all 

other mining machine operators; earth drillers, except those 

drilling for oil or gas; all other extraction workers; oil and 

gas derrick operators, who rig derrick equipment and operate 

pumps to circulate mud through drill holes; oil, gas, and mining service unit operators; helpers of extraction workers, who 

help extraction craft workers by performing duties of lesser 

skill; quarry rock splitters; oil and gas roustabouts; shuttle 

car operators, who operate shuttle cars in underground mines 

to transport materials from working faces to mine cars or a 

conveyor; and loading machine operators in underground 

mining, who load coal, ore, or rock into cars or onto conveyors. The weighted mean wage for these 15 mining laborer 

occupations is $16.21.

Wages for mining laborers vary by industry within the 

mining sector, which consists of three subsectors: oil and gas 

extraction (NAICS industry code 211000), mining, except 

oil and gas (NAICS code 212000), and support activities for 

mining (NAICS code 213000). Of these three subsectors, the 

largest is mining, except oil and gas, employing 39 percent 

of the mining sectors’ workers. This subsector comprises the 

coal mining, metal ore mining, and nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying industries. The oil and gas extraction subsector has the highest mean hourly wage: $30.34. Average 

wages in mining, except oil and gas, and in support activities for mining are $19.29 and $19.13, respectively. Table 1 

breaks down mining laborer wages by subsector. 

1

 “Mining,” Career Guide to Industries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

2006–07); on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs004.htm#training. 

(Visited on September 5, 2006.)
24

Comparison of wages in mining sector with wages 

across all industries

Although mining laborers are employed primarily by the mining industries, many other important mining occupations are 

found across numerous industries. Overall, more than half of 

all occupations in mining have average wages that exceed 

their national cross-industry averages. Separately examining 

the highest- and lowest-paid mining occupations produces 

interesting results.

Not surprisingly, the top-paying occupations in the industry are not labor intensive, but professional: lawyers, several 

types of managers, physicists, engineers, and geoscientists, 

among others. As an example, lawyers in mining establishments are among the highest-paid workers in mining occupations and earn more than the average in other industries. 

In the mining sector, they make an average of $134,630 

annually (among the highest they are paid by any industry), whereas the cross-industrial average annual salary for 

lawyers is $110,520. The high wages paid by mining firms 

might result from a greater demand for lawyers, as reflected 

in the occupation’s employment levels. Mining has one of 

the five highest employment concentrations of lawyers, behind the professional services, public administration, and two 

business industries, as shown in table 2. In comparison with 

other laborer-intensive industries, mining employs the greatest proportion of lawyers. Almost 0.2 percent of the mining 

industry is composed of lawyers, while manufacturing employs only 0.03 percent, transportation and warehousing 0.02 

percent, construction 0.01 percent, and agriculture less than 

0.01 percent. 

Besides lawyers, many mining occupations with the highest mean wages are paid more than they receive in any other 

industry. Among these occupations are geoscientists, natural 

sciences managers, public relations managers, and other managers. The higher wages could represent a higher demand for 

these workers, as is the case with lawyers; an incentive to 

attract higher quality professional workers; or the sharing of 

relatively high mining industry profits.2

Measuring the absolute wage differences among the diverse set of mining occupations, however, does not take into 

account differences in earning levels. For a manager or engineer earning a high annual salary, a few cents or dollars 

deviating from the cross-industry hourly average might not 

seem substantial. On the other hand, for occupations earning 

close to the minimum wage, a difference of a few cents or 

$1.00 per hour might be important. Therefore, a better measure of the wage difference is the percentage difference, or 

premium, between the mining industry wage and the crossindustry average. The occupations with the highest percent 

wage premiums are hazardous materials removal workers 

(with an 80% wage premium); sales workers; vehicle and 

equipment cleaners; stock clerks and order fillers; real estate 

sales agents; managers of property, real estate, and community associations; and geoscientists. 

At the other end of the spectrum, many of the lowest-paid 

mining occupations are paid lower mean wages than their 

national cross-industry counterparts. Among the lowest-paying mining occupations—those earning under $10 hourly, on 

average—are office machine workers; nursing aides; farm 

workers and laborers of crops or nurseries; tool grinders and 

filers; landscaping and groundskeeping workers; recreational 

Table 1. Average hourly wages in mining subsectors 

“--” indicates no employment or data not available. 

Occupation Average hourly wage 

Mining sector Oil and gas Coal Metal ore Nonmetal Support

Roustabouts, oil and gas...................................... $12.83 $14.03 — — — $12.63

Helpers, extraction workers.................................. 14.21 12.31 16.93 15.24 12.33 13.46

Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining.......... 16.53 18.53 — — — 16.28

Rotary drill operators, oil and gas......................... 19.34 20.89 — — — 19.15

Derrick operators, oil and gas............................... 17.17 17.82 — — — 17.10

Continuous mining machine operators................. 18.89 — 19.03 21.73 16.52 16.02

Extraction workers, all other................................. 17.62 20.47 15.21 20.67 15.88 17.89

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators.. 18.31 — 19.80 20.90 16.03 15.45

Earth drillers, except oil and gas .......................... 17.64 — 17.26 21.44 16.25 17.49

Roof bolters, mining.............................................. 18.85 — 18.69 23.70 22.79 18.49

Shuttle car operators ............................................ 18.58 — 18.45 — 23.70 —

Rock splitters, quarry............................................ 13.59 — 16.29 — 13.50 —

Mining machine operators, all other ..................... 18.10 — 20.03 20.03 16.76 12.80

Loading machine operators in underground 

 mining................................................................. 17.44 — 17.65 — 16.88 —

Explosives workers, ordnance handling workers, 

 and blasters........................................................ 18.70 — 19.77 21.95 16.38 17.89

2

 Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade 

Corporations: 2006, “Table D. Annual Rates of Profit on Stockholders’ 

Equity for Corporations in NAICS Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade, by 

Sector, Select Subsectors, and Select Industry Groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 

June 2006), p. 19; on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/

qfr06q1.pdf. (Visited on September 5, 2006.)
25

workers; and protective service workers. There is an overlap between these occupations and the occupations with the 

greatest negative wage premiums: office machine operators, 

medical assistants, nursing aides, assemblers and fabricators, 

and landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Notwithstanding this phenomenon, some relatively low-paying mining 

occupations have the highest percent wage premiums. For 

cleaners and stock clerks, for example, whose wages in mining are otherwise low, the positive deviation from the crossindustry mean wage is valuable. 

In between the high- and low-paying occupations lie the 

mining laborer occupations, with average wages as shown 

in table 1. Because mining laborers are rarely found in other 

industries, it is difficult to compare their wages with those 

of people doing the same work in other industries. Table 3 

shows that, with the exception of two occupations (earth 

drillers; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, 

Table 3. Mining laborer employment, mean wage of sector, and cross-industry mean wage 

Employment Mean wage

Mining laborer occupation Mining Cross- Percent in Mining Crosssector industry mining sector sector industry

Rotary drill operators, oil and gas................................... 14,680 15,500 94.71 $19.34 $19.81 

Continuous mining machine operators .......................... 8,490 9,000 94.33 18.89 18.67

Roof bolters, mining........................................................ 4,130 4,140 99.76 18.85 18.84

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and 

 blasters......................................................................... 1,510 4,800 31.46 18.70 19.33

Shuttle car operators. ..................................................... 2,920 3,100 94.19 18.58 18.28

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators............ 5,740 6,080 94.41 18.31 18.12

Mining machine operators, all other .............................. 2,160 2,450 88.16 18.10 18.26

Earth drillers, except oil and gas ................................... 5,090 18,800 27.07 17.64 17.20

Extraction workers, all other .......................................... 6,810 9,060 75.17 17.62 17.32

Loading machine operators, underground mining ......... 2,050 2,390 85.77 17.44 17.47

Derrick operators, oil and gas ........................................ 12,960 13,270 97.66 17.17 17.16

Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining ................... 18,200 19,530 93.19 16.53 16.61

Helpers—extraction workers ......................................... 19,670 25,550 76.99 14.21 13.76

Rock splitters, quarry ..................................................... 2,370 3,600 65.83 13.59 13.56

Roustabouts, oil and gas ............................................... 29,170 33,570 86.89 12.83 12.71 

Table 2. Employment and mean wages of lawyers 

Total employed Percentage Hourly mean 

Industry sector* employed in employed as wage of 

sector lawyers lawyers

54 - Professional, scientific, and technical services .............................................. 6,928,030 5.23292% $55.99

92 - Public administration ...................................................................................... 9,439,900 1.11419% 41.30

55 - Management of companies and enterprises .................................................. 1,739,370 0.68530% 62.22

52 - Finance and insurance .................................................................................. 5,863,340 0.35578% 55.40

21 - Mining............................................................................................................ 539,960 0.19533% 64.73

22 - Utilities............................................................................................................ 552,440 0.12552% 62.08

81 - Other services (except public administration) ................................................ 3,811,110 0.11281% 45.75

51 - Information .................................................................................................... 3,081,510 0.10971% 65.24

53 - Real estate and rental and leasing ................................................................ 2,108,600 0.08102% 62.28

56- Administrative and support, and waste management and 

 remediation services ..................................................................................... 8,102,250 0.05929% 51.50

31 - 33 Manufacturing.......................................................................................... 14,262,510 0.02691% 65.32

42 - Wholesale trade ............................................................................................ 5,736,020 0.02447% 65.78

48 and 49 - Transportation and warehousing .................................................. 5,131,180 0.02325% 57.21

62 - Healthcare and social assistance .................................................................. 15,233,920 0.02073% 39.25

71 - Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................................................... 1,843,720 0.01560% 56.19

61 - Educational services ..................................................................................... 12,137,420 0.01506% 47.44

23 - Construction................................................................................................. 7,215,240 0.00969% 57.19

44 and 45 - Retail trade......................................................................................... 15,369,450 0.00182% 55.18

11 - Agricultural ................................................................................................... 369,310 0.00171% 51.62 

72 - Accommodation and food services ................................................................ 10,842,570 0.00055% 61.23

* Boldface type indicates similar industries
26

and blasters), mining laborers are employed primarily by 

the mining sector and therefore have cross-industry wages 

similar to their wages in the mining industry. The two exceptions have average wages that exceed the cross-industry 

averages by almost $0.50 per hour. Although it is relatively 

easy to compare the wages of the highest- and lowest-paid 

occupations in mining with the wages of their counterparts 

in other industries, it remains difficult to do so for mining 

laborers because of their absence in other industries. Instead, 

a comparison with the wages of workers in similar laborer 

occupations is instructive. Also, an analysis at the national, 

State, and area levels indicates whether wage differences are 

a result of geographic location. 

Because it is difficult to perform a cross-industry analysis of mining laborers, it is useful to compare mining laborer 

wages with wages of occupations with similar background 

training or education requirements or with similar physical 

demands. Although the nature of mining labor is unique to the 

mining industry in terms of the tasks performed and the work 

environment, many other occupations require comparable 

levels of training. Among these occupations are production 

workers (mean wage, $14.37); transportation and material 

moving workers (mean wage, $13.85); farming, fishing, and 

forestry occupations (mean wage, $10.10); personal care and 

service workers (mean wage, $10.67); building and grounds 

cleaning and maintenance workers (mean wage, $10.55); and 

food preparation and serving workers (mean wage, $8.58). 

Occupations that require similar physical exertion include 

construction laborers (an occupation that requires more train3

 Data from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages 

(QCEW).

Table 4. Employment and wages of mining laborers, by State

Statewide Mining Percentage of Cross-industry Mean wage Percent 

State employment laborer mining laborers mean paid to mining wage 

employment employed wage laborers difference

Wyoming................................................ 251,590 6,980 2.78 15.84 17.75 12.06

West Virginia ......................................... 697,390 7,810 1.12 14.69 17.90 21.85

New Mexico........................................... 763,430 6,290 .82 15.95 15.95 .00

Oklahoma .............................................. 1,455,940 8,160 .56 15.12 15.68 3.70

Louisiana ............................................... 1,877,160 10,080 .54 15.11 17.16 13.57

Alaska.................................................... 300,150 1,420 .47 20.55 23.35 13.63

Texas ..................................................... 9,424,510 40,060 .43 17.05 14.64 –14.13

North Dakota ......................................... 328,520 1,320 .40 14.83 18.48 24.61

Montana................................................. 414,650 1,520 .37 14.53 18.46 27.05

Kentucky................................................ 1,754,590 6,180 .35 15.65 16.34 4.41

Utah....................................................... 1,099,230 2,940 .27 16.48 17.87 8.43

Nevada .................................................. 1,191,640 3,000 .25 16.71 21.04 25.91

Kansas................................................... 1,315,640 2,660 .20 16.33 13.31 –18.49

Colorado................................................ 2,151,520 3,910 .18 19.36 17.93 –7.39

Mississippi ............................................. 1,108,540 1,980 .18 13.99 12.94 –7.51

Arkansas................................................ 1,142,370 1,330 .12 14.31 13.81 –3.49

Pennsylvania ......................................... 5,569,310 6,270 .11 17.46 15.60 –10.65

Alabama ................................................ 1,872,600 1,990 .11 15.54 17.73 14.09

Virginia................................................... 3,535,500 2,830 .08 19.11 16.02 –16.17

Idaho...................................................... 597,490 440 .07 15.89 18.84 18.57

Vermont ................................................. 297,650 190 .07 16.86 18.96 12.46

Illinois..................................................... 5,767,100 3,120 .05 18.89 16.71 –11.54

Ohio....................................................... 5,340,280 2,260 .04 17.44 14.64 –16.06

California ............................................... 14,723,900 5,270 .04 20.44 19.03 –6.90

Michigan ................................................ 4,334,870 1,190 .03 19.25 14.89 –22.65

Tennessee ............................................. 2,686,580 570 .02 15.99 14.59 –8.76

New York ............................................... 8,333,460 710 .01 21.18 15.43 –27.15

ing); hazardous material removal workers; heavy truck and 

tractor trailer drivers; helpers of construction trades; and hand 

laborers and movers of freight, stock, and materials. Wages 

for these occupations range from $17.90 for hazardous material movers to $10.80 for hand laborers and movers of freight, 

stock, and materials. With an average wage of $16.21, mining 

laborers are near the top. Although this comparison takes into 

account training and physical exertion, it does not account for 

differences in wages due to geographic location. 

Mining laborer wages at the State level

Wage disparities among mining laborer occupations may 

exist because the occupations are in different areas. Mining 

employment is found only in specific geographic locations. 

In 2005, the States employing the greatest number of workers in the overall privately owned mining sector were Texas 

(164,181), Louisiana (42,521), Oklahoma (36,060), West 

Virginia (24,862), California (22,077), Kentucky (20,911), 

Pennsylvania (18,843), New Mexico (16,860), Ohio (10,782), 

Nevada (10,559), Alaska (10,518), and Virginia (8,754).3 The 

relative importance of mining and mining laborers is not reflected in the absolute numbers. For example, 22,000 workers 

in West Virginia may have a larger impact on the local economy than do 22,000 in California. The proportion of mining 

laborers employed in each State is a better indicator of the 
27

Table 5. States with highest employment and mean hourly wages for mining laborers

States with highest—

Mining laborer occupation

Employment Mean cross-industry wages 

Rotary drill operators, oil and gas Texas, 6,010 Alaska, $28.23

Louisiana, 1,990 California, 23.69

Oklahoma, 1,300 Washington, 21.96

Pennsylvania, 700 Utah, 21.60

Continuous mining machine operators West Virginia, 1,750 Illinois, 22.33

Nevada, 1,370 Nevada, 22.25

Pennsylvania, 910 Wyoming, 21.59

Virginia, 630 California, 20.04

Roof bolters, mining West Virginia, 1,200 Wyoming, 26.51

Kentucky, 1,170 Colorado, 22.54

Pennsylvania, 510 Pennsylvania, 20.11 

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, blasters Kentucky, 450 Connecticut, 24.37

Indiana, 390 Idaho, 23.96

Oklahoma, 380 Wyoming, 22.80

Virginia, 310 New Mexico, 22.55 

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators Virginia, 750 Pennsylvania, 21.16

West Virginia, 620 Kentucky, 19.58

Pennsylvania, 560 West Virginia, 18.98

New Mexico, 390 Indiana, 18.41

Mining machine operators, all other California, 320 Nevada, 22.12

Alabama, 310 California, 21.17

Nevada, 100 Arkansas, 20.38

Virginia, 80 Alabama, 19.50

Earth drillers, except oil and gas Texas, 1,430

California, 910 Rhode Island, 25.99

Illinois, 890 Alaska, 24.62

Pennsylvania, 730 California, 24.61

Extraction workers, all other Texas, 1,790 Alaska, 27.42

Wyoming, 1,690 Idaho, 22.68

Louisiana, 1,130 California, 21.78 

Derrick operators, oil and gas Texas, 5,390 Alaska, 21.68

Louisiana, 1,160 North Dakota, 20.93

Wyoming, 1,140 Louisiana, 19.76

Oklahoma, 1,050 California, 19.61

Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining Texas, 7,870 New Mexico, 22.35

Louisiana, 2,120 Alaska, 20.80

Oklahoma, 1,950 California, 19.65

Wyoming, 970 Colorado, 19.44

Helpers—extraction workers Texas, 5,640 Alaska, 25.31

West Virginia, 1,900 West Virginia, 17.29

California, 1,790 Illinois, 16.79

Pennsylvania, 1,690 California, 16.29

Rock splitters, quarry Pennsylvania, 410 New York, 16.67

Ohio, 300 Virginia, 16.16

New York, 250 Missouri, 14.79 

Roustabouts, oil and gas Texas, 16,820 Alabama, 19.38

New Mexico, 3,290 Alaska, 18.55

Louisiana, 3,020 California, 16.38

Oklahoma, 2,220 Wyoming, 16.01
28

Table 5. States with highest employment and mean hourly wages for mining laborers—Continued

States with highest—

Mining laborer occupation

Employment Mean cross-industry wages 

Loading machine operators, underground Kentucky, 380

North Carolina, 170 California, 21.46

Illinois, 140 Indiana, 20.38

Shuttle car operators West Virginia, 960 Wyoming, 26.60

Kentucky, 680 Colorado, 21.87

prevalence and importance of the mining industry in those 

geographic areas. The States employing the largest proportion of mining laborers are shown in table 4. 

The average wage for mining laborers is influenced by the 

average wage for all workers in the State, the proportion of 

the workforce they constitute, and the types of mining laborers in the area. Table 4 shows the relative wages in each State. 

In addition, as the mining laborers’ share of employment increases, their wage, relative to other workers in the State, 

tends to increase. One exception to this trend is Texas. 

The relatively low wages in Texas may be explained by 

the types of mining laborers in the State. Texas has the largest proportion of relatively low paid roustabouts, a situation 

that tends to bring down the mining laborer group’s average 

wage. Table 5 shows the States with the highest employment 

and wages for each of the detailed mining laborer occupations. Contrary to the employment proportions, employment 

levels are not necessarily reflected in the States with the highest wages. 

The 18 States that pay high wages to certain mining laborers, as shown in table 5, are Alabama, Alaska, California, 

Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, 

Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. 

Alaska pays the highest mean wages for 4 of the 15 occupations, each in the oil and gas extraction industry. In accordance with the earlier example, 13 of the high-paying States 

employ a large percentage of mining laborers relative to the 

percentage employed by the remaining States. The other 

States with high wages for miners—California, Connecticut, 

Indiana, New York, and Rhode Island—have relatively high 

wages for all occupations. 

Although State-level evaluations provide valuable information, it may be useful to look at smaller areas because 

labor markets vary within a given State. The State of New 

York, for instance, includes New York City as well as rural 

areas, and wage and employment patterns might be different 

in each. Individual statewide mean wages also are influenced 

by the types of workers within the State. The analysis that 

follows includes a comparison of mining laborer occupations 

with similar laborer occupations in other industries, by specific geographic area.

Comparison of mining laborers with laborers in 

similar occupations

In order to address variations within local labor markets and 

see how occupational composition affects average wages, a 

comparison of wages of particular occupations employed in 

specific geographic areas is useful. The laborer occupations 

selected for comparison are construction laborers; helpers of 

construction trades; heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers; 

laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand; and 

cashiers. All of these occupations require physical exertion, 

except perhaps cashiers, and all require minimal training, except construction laborers. Table 6 lists the 89 metropolitan 

areas for which the OES program publishes employment for 

all six occupations. Most often, truck drivers have the highest 

mean wages of the six. Slightly fewer than half of the areas 

pay higher mean wages to mining laborers than to the other 

occupations. Only 6 areas pay construction laborers the highest mean wages. A logical conclusion to draw is that mining 

laborers are paid higher wages than other, lesser skilled occupations, in part because physical exertion demands higher 

wages, but also because mine workers may be compensated 

for their unpleasant working conditions. 

Summary 

Overall, mining is a relatively high wage sector. With the exception of the lowest-paid workers in the mining industry, 

most occupations are paid higher wages than their counterparts in other industries. The highest-paid workers, such as 

lawyers, managers, and engineers, are paid higher wages than 

people in the same occupations in other industries. Mining 

laborers are paid higher wages than workers in similar occupations in the same geographic area. Even States with low 

wages overall tend to pay higher wages to mining laborers 

if those States have a high concentration of such workers. 

The higher wages may serve as compensation for relatively 

adverse working conditions. 

More information on jobs in the mining sector can be found 

at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_21.htm. Detailed 

information about occupational employment and wage estimates at the sector, three-digit, and four-digit industry levels, 

as well as for States and metropolitan areas, is available on 

the OES website at www.bls.gov/oes/. 
29

Table 6. Mean wages of occupations similar to mining laborers, by area 

Mean hourly wage

 Hand 

construction

Metropolitan Statistical Area Mining Construction Truck and movers Cashiers Helpers of 

laborers laborers drivers of freight, construction

stock, and

material

Abilene, TX........................................................................... $17.60 $9.56 $15.62 $8.11 $7.08 $11.46 

Albuquerque, NM.................................................................. 12.36 10.19 17.53 9.34 8.30 10.29

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ ................................... 16.35 13.31 17.55 11.46 7.90 8.35

Amarillo, TX.......................................................................... 14.44 9.56 15.70 8.53 7.32 9.82

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA..................................... 14.70 11.85 18.12 10.67 8.18 8.69

Austin-Round Rock, TX........................................................ 11.85 10.17 15.08 10.97 8.35 9.69

Baltimore-Towson, MD ......................................................... 15.08 13.35 17.72 11.54 8.79 12.90

Baton Rouge, LA. ................................................................. 15.34 10.93 14.93 9.73 7.10 11.22

Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX. ................................................... 11.42 10.19 14.25 10.34 6.90 10.88

Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD Metropolitan 

 Division............................................................................... 8.11 13.62 17.17 11.36 9.34 13.50

Birmingham-Hoover, AL........................................................ 17.03 10.37 16.45 10.05 7.44 13.30

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA............................... 17.41 10.78 15.80 11.54 7.42 10.04

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY..................................................... 22.55 16.59 16.64 11.07 7.75 14.04

Casper, WY .......................................................................... 15.62 12.12 18.44 10.50 7.88 11.22

Charleston, WV .................................................................... 18.16 14.96 14.23 10.51 6.61 16.07

Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC ................................... 15.79 11.47 17.86 11.01 8.07 10.50

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL Metropolitan Division .............. 17.05 22.78 20.01 10.46 8.63 17.71

Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN ........................................ 16.39 14.96 17.67 10.63 8.32 11.21

College Station-Bryan, TX.................................................... 16.63 10.04 14.26 7.80 7.33 10.19

Columbia, SC ....................................................................... 12.63 11.10 17.39 9.67 7.29 9.35

Columbus, OH...................................................................... 15.05 15.78 17.92 11.14 8.34 11.15

Corpus Christi, TX ................................................................ 14.11 9.03 12.83 9.49 7.42 8.26

Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division ...................... 13.98 10.58 18.70 9.82 8.15 9.82

Denver-Aurora, CO............................................................... 19.09 13.04 18.47 11.29 9.85 11.02

Evansville, IN-KY.................................................................. 16.00 13.96 15.46 10.53 7.24 8.67

Farmington, NM.................................................................... 17.39 10.42 14.80 9.07 8.41 10.32

Fort Smith, AR-OK................................................................ 13.89 10.82 18.22 9.39 7.18 9.82

Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division .................... 14.19 10.04 16.84 10.01 8.07 11.07

Gary, IN Metropolitan Division.............................................. 25.01 20.63 19.34 11.65 7.79 13.43

Grand Forks, ND-MN............................................................ 11.42 12.23 14.17 10.23 7.41 8.86

Grand Junction, CO.............................................................. 17.25 11.70 15.22 10.58 9.15 16.64

Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV........................................ 14.86 11.68 18.09 11.83 7.85 10.75

Harrisonburg, VA .................................................................. 13.51 11.00 17.39 10.57 7.54 11.79

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT............................ 21.75 17.43 19.62 12.52 9.35 11.14

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA..................................... 18.62 11.35 13.10 8.85 6.86 9.70

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX....................................... 15.50 9.73 16.25 10.97 7.79 10.79

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH.......................................... 17.27 12.58 14.76 9.56 6.87 11.06

Indianapolis-Carmel, IN........................................................ 17.29 15.88 18.86 11.37 8.11 8.52

Jackson, MS......................................................................... 14.96 9.45 17.76 11.69 7.21 7.74

Jacksonville, FL.................................................................... 15.76 11.16 18.20 10.95 8.05 8.74

Kansas City, MO-KS............................................................. 15.86 16.75 18.71 11.60 8.32 11.13

Knoxville, TN ........................................................................ 14.95 12.06 15.63 10.53 7.67 8.93

Lafayette, LA......................................................................... 16.83 10.40 14.05 9.31 6.67 9.53

Lake Charles, LA.................................................................. 15.85 10.42 14.00 9.73 6.66 12.20

Lakeland, FL......................................................................... 18.12 9.66 16.22 9.29 7.59 8.83

Lexington-Fayette, KY.......................................................... 14.70 11.20 17.51 10.66 8.29 12.12

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan 

 Division............................................................................... 18.58 14.97 17.08 10.66 9.61 12.00

Lubbock, TX ......................................................................... 9.28 9.01 16.19 8.68 7.21 12.28

Memphis, TN-MS-AR ........................................................... 15.21 10.84 17.24 11.31 7.96 9.17

Midland, TX .......................................................................... 13.61 9.51 13.57 8.56 8.45 9.88

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI .......................... 17.54 22.04 18.97 13.69 8.94 12.73

Nashua, NH-MA NECTA1 Division....................................... 17.33 12.80 19.22 14.15 8.69 11.28

Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN................................. 13.86 12.34 17.52 10.40 8.36 6.75

Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division............................ 17.61 20.72 21.01 11.46 8.69 9.64

New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA........................................ 16.81 11.01 13.72 9.64 7.04 10.07

New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan 

 Division .............................................................................. 17.88 21.35 19.84 11.48 8.96 17.44

Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division ........................ 20.58 20.49 18.82 11.21 8.56 11.36

See footnote at end of table.
30

Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division......... 20.32 19.35 19.67 12.68 10.78 10.77

Odessa, TX........................................................................... 74.10 8.81 15.28 9.90 6.94 9.47

Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA............................................... 17.37 12.67 17.00 10.64 8.36 10.64

Orlando-Kissimmee, FL........................................................ 15.26 10.51 15.51 9.96 8.13 14.63

Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division ................................. 18.10 17.40 18.42 12.38 8.36 9.93

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ .............................................. 15.52 13.07 18.29 10.60 9.12 10.90

Pittsburgh, PA....................................................................... 16.24 16.49 16.27 11.22 7.21 13.26

Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA.............................. 17.12 16.74 17.39 11.59 10.07 11.20

Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA ................................ 19.74 17.24 17.99 11.13 8.73 10.58

Raleigh-Cary, NC.................................................................. 13.75 11.03 15.91 10.32 8.05 11.30

Richmond, VA....................................................................... 15.78 10.50 17.51 11.54 8.01 11.54

Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA........................... 17.88 15.55 18.09 11.19 10.09 15.03

Salem, OR............................................................................ 13.55 16.05 15.52 10.84 9.72 10.32

Salt Lake City, UT................................................................. 20.19 11.85 18.74 10.40 8.65 9.79

San Antonio, TX.................................................................... 12.94 8.77 14.57 8.94 7.68 10.20

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.................................. 20.71 16.50 18.31 10.39 9.69 12.63

San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, PR........................................ 8.58 6.51 7.43 7.33 6.13 7.92

Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division .......... 18.93 14.65 18.16 10.17 9.67 13.35

Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA.................................................. 15.44 14.05 17.09 11.23 7.46 10.00

Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division............. 27.32 16.31 18.91 12.17 11.43 13.69

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA.................................................. 17.20 9.80 16.10 8.85 6.98 9.34

Springfield, MA-CT ............................................................... 17.60 17.33 18.29 12.09 8.92 9.84

St. Louis, MO-IL.................................................................... 16.84 19.03 18.04 11.62 8.66 14.25

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL.................................. 15.09 11.33 15.27 9.09 7.94 8.90

Tucson, AZ ........................................................................... 16.98 11.39 17.63 9.75 8.94 12.52

Tulsa, OK.............................................................................. 15.42 10.67 16.85 9.95 7.64 8.57

Tyler, TX ............................................................................... 15.79 9.38 16.52 10.23 7.25 10.58

Vallejo-Fairfield, CA.............................................................. 21.47 17.61 18.52 11.18 10.29 10.30

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC .................... 18.11 10.42 15.36 9.94 7.41 10.53

Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division...... 17.22 17.33 19.41 14.74 9.06 16.16

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 

 Metropolitan Division .......................................................... 17.23 13.07 17.55 11.54 9.03 15.54

Wheeling, WV-OH ................................................................ 17.64 17.36 16.54 8.75 7.31 11.77

Wichita, KS........................................................................... 14.29 10.30 15.83 9.55 7.70 7.05

1 NECTA = New England City and Town Area.

Table 6. Mean wages of occupations similar to mining laborers, by area—Continued 

Mean hourly wage

 Hand 

construction

Metropolitan Statistical Area Mining Construction Truck and movers Cashiers Helpers of 

laborers laborers drivers of freight, construction

stock, and

material