Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining · SOC 47-5044
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining Salary in the Wheeling Metro Area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Wheeling, WV-OH metro area
Figures describe the Wheeling, WV-OH metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Wheeling city limits.
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining in the Wheeling, WV-OH metro area earned a median of $81,100 per year ($38.99 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $65,040 at the 10th percentile to $84,890 at the 90th. BLS estimates 140 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining in the Wheeling metro area earn more than $81,100 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $65,040 and $84,890.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $65,040 | $65,040 | $81,100 | $84,890 | $84,890 |
| Hourly | $31.27 | $31.27 | $38.99 | $40.81 | $40.81 |
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
- Wheeling metro areathis metro area$81,100 median for Wheeling metro area; middle half earns $65,040 to $84,890
- 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 +8% vs West Virginia overall and +9% 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.
- Wheeling metro areathis page$81,100 median for Wheeling metro area; middle half earns $65,040 to $84,890
- $74,130 median for Beckley metro area; middle half earns $63,990 to $77,130
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 Wheeling 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.