Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining · SOC 47-5044
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining Salary in the Beckley Metro Area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Beckley, WV metro area
Figures describe the Beckley, WV metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Beckley city limits.
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining in the Beckley, WV metro area earned a median of $74,130 per year ($35.64 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $62,750 at the 10th percentile to $80,860 at the 90th. BLS estimates 200 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining in the Beckley metro area earn more than $74,130 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $63,990 and $77,130.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $62,750 | $63,990 | $74,130 | $77,130 | $80,860 |
| Hourly | $30.17 | $30.77 | $35.64 | $37.08 | $38.88 |
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
- Beckley metro areathis metro area$74,130 median for Beckley metro area; middle half earns $63,990 to $77,130
- West Virginiastate (WV)$74,950 median for West Virginia; middle half earns $68,410 to $78,760
- United Statesnational$74,500 median for United States; middle half earns $61,410 to $79,150
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −1% vs West Virginia overall and about the same vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Other metro areas in West Virginia
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for loading and moving machine operators, underground mining, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Beckley metro areathis page$74,130 median for Beckley metro area; middle half earns $63,990 to $77,130
- $81,100 median for Wheeling metro area; middle half earns $65,040 to $84,890
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 loading and moving machine operators, underground minings · Highest-paying occupations in Beckley Metro
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.