Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining · SOC 47-5022
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining Salary in the California
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025California
Figures describe the state of California as a whole.
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining in the California earned a median of $74,500 per year ($35.82 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $54,390 at the 10th percentile to $142,600 at the 90th. BLS estimates 790 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining in the California earn more than $74,500 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $61,240 and $98,690.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $54,390 | $61,240 | $74,500 | $98,690 | $142,600 |
| Hourly | $26.15 | $29.44 | $35.82 | $47.45 | $68.56 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- California$74,500 median for California; middle half earns $61,240 to $98,690
- United Statesnational$57,430 median for United States; middle half earns $47,890 to $65,730
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is +30% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in California
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Californiathis page$74,500 median for California; middle half earns $61,240 to $98,690
- $142,970 median for Sacramento metro area; middle half earns $64,450 to $142,970
- $122,410 median for San Francisco metro area; middle half earns $73,240 to $137,590
- $82,560 median for San Jose metro area; middle half earns $62,720 to $117,950
- $74,390 median for Fresno metro area; middle half earns $60,760 to $143,320
- $69,240 median for Riverside metro area; middle half earns $58,950 to $75,360
- $65,260 median for Bakersfield metro area; middle half earns $49,810 to $90,070
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface minings · Highest-paying occupations in California
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.