Pay by state · 50 states
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operator, Surface Mining Salary by State (2026)
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining earn the most in North Dakota at $90,380 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $35,870 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $57,430. All 50 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.
- Highest median
- $90,380North Dakota
- National median
- $57,430BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Lowest median
- $35,870Puerto Rico
- States reporting
- 50of 54 OEWS areas
All states
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operator, Surface Mining salary in every state
Sort by any column. Employment is the number of excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NDNorth Dakota | $90,380 | $59,930 | $120,080 | 220 | $101,597 |
| 2 | ILIllinois | $80,600 | $57,720 | $87,580 | 1,310 | $80,634 |
| 3 | NJNew Jersey | $80,310 | $62,490 | $122,950 | 740 | $73,811 |
| 4 | WYWyoming | $78,230 | $70,010 | $79,870 | 420 | $84,399 |
| 5 | NMNew Mexico | $76,350 | $50,450 | $76,350 | 270 | $82,798 |
| 6 | MAMassachusetts | $76,070 | $62,910 | $80,220 | 280 | $71,929 |
| 7 | AKAlaska | $74,680 | $62,140 | $93,270 | 140 | $72,959 |
| 8 | CACalifornia | $74,500 | $61,240 | $98,690 | 790 | $67,287 |
| 9 | MTMontana | $65,850 | $52,430 | $81,480 | 150 | $69,576 |
| 10 | CTConnecticut | $65,710 | $60,180 | $79,760 | 280 | $63,421 |
| 11 | WAWashington | $64,270 | $59,940 | $77,930 | 640 | $60,058 |
| 12 | NVNevada | $63,810 | $57,960 | $83,030 | 730 | $63,823 |
| 13 | INIndiana | $61,910 | $56,600 | $70,050 | 1,530 | $66,335 |
| 14 | WVWest Virginia | $61,330 | $58,680 | $65,390 | 650 | $68,527 |
| 15 | OROregon | $61,280 | $56,450 | $70,440 | 310 | $59,287 |
| 16 | MNMinnesota | $61,260 | $49,540 | $81,790 | 520 | $62,117 |
| 17 | COColorado | $61,020 | $56,510 | $79,390 | 820 | $59,213 |
| 18 | AZArizona | $60,310 | $53,540 | $76,150 | 560 | $59,904 |
| 19 | VTVermont | $59,790 | $47,900 | $64,660 | 250 | $61,036 |
| 20 | RIRhode Island | $59,590 | $46,120 | $63,300 | 50 | $58,262 |
| 21 | VAVirginia | $59,480 | $48,590 | $66,860 | 1,150 | $58,831 |
| 22 | IAIowa | $59,390 | $48,780 | $61,630 | 560 | $67,672 |
| 23 | MIMichigan | $59,040 | $48,930 | $64,050 | 880 | $61,361 |
| 24 | IDIdaho | $58,670 | $50,080 | $63,550 | 190 | $61,438 |
| 25 | NCNorth Carolina | $58,620 | $49,360 | $60,460 | N/A | $62,146 |
| 26 | NHNew Hampshire | $58,540 | $50,610 | $65,880 | 350 | $56,199 |
| 27 | NENebraska | $58,370 | $48,340 | $61,670 | 300 | $64,781 |
| 28 | WIWisconsin | $58,280 | $51,380 | $62,540 | 990 | $61,937 |
| 29 | OHOhio | $58,240 | $48,740 | $65,900 | 1,120 | $62,776 |
| 30 | NYNew York | $58,120 | $47,840 | $71,020 | 1,490 | $53,854 |
| 31 | MDMaryland | $57,610 | $42,670 | $69,000 | 730 | $54,888 |
| 32 | MOMissouri | $56,760 | $49,660 | $59,370 | 310 | $62,499 |
| 33 | MEMaine | $55,890 | $49,250 | $64,010 | 230 | $57,589 |
| 34 | UTUtah | $54,330 | $48,560 | $62,040 | 400 | $54,954 |
| 35 | LALouisiana | $53,510 | $39,500 | $58,220 | 280 | $60,664 |
| 36 | SCSouth Carolina | $52,580 | $46,260 | $58,980 | 330 | $56,086 |
| 37 | PAPennsylvania | $52,350 | $49,000 | $58,070 | 1,520 | $53,653 |
| 38 | FLFlorida | $51,990 | $45,490 | $60,460 | 1,480 | $50,274 |
| 39 | GAGeorgia | $50,290 | $47,880 | $57,690 | 1,180 | $52,226 |
| 40 | TNTennessee | $49,500 | $45,880 | $59,130 | 550 | $53,880 |
| 41 | TXTexas | $49,000 | $43,920 | $59,210 | 5,030 | $50,486 |
| 42 | KSKansas | $48,950 | $46,340 | $56,230 | 270 | $54,348 |
| 43 | MSMississippi | $48,490 | $38,930 | $56,730 | 290 | $55,766 |
| 44 | SDSouth Dakota | $48,250 | $44,810 | $57,280 | 280 | $54,467 |
| 45 | KYKentucky | $47,780 | $40,450 | $57,680 | 790 | $52,995 |
| 46 | ALAlabama | $47,770 | $40,170 | $52,350 | 410 | $53,781 |
| 47 | OKOklahoma | $47,100 | $46,490 | $55,990 | 1,440 | $53,618 |
| 48 | DEDelaware | $46,900 | $38,380 | $57,060 | 130 | $46,990 |
| 49 | ARArkansas | $46,170 | $40,130 | $48,590 | 250 | $53,107 |
| 50 | PRPuerto Rico | $35,870 | $31,200 | $47,510 | 130 | N/A |
Method
How the cost-of-living adjustment works
The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.
For Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining, that changes the ranking: North Dakota leads on raw pay at $90,380, while North Dakota leads once prices are taken into account at $101,597.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.
Questions
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operator, Surface Mining pay by state: FAQ
Which state pays Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining the most?
North Dakota reports the highest median wage for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining at $90,380 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Illinois ($80,600) and New Jersey ($80,310).
Which state pays Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining the least?
Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining at $35,870 a year, $54,510 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Where do Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining earn the most after cost of living?
Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts North Dakota first at $101,597 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $90,380. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.