Helpers--Extraction Workers salary
SOC 47-5081 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $36,960
- 25th
- $41,430
- Median
- $47,730
- 75th
- $57,920
- 90th
- $68,020
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where helpers--extraction workers earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | $77,180 | 89.5 | 360 | 11.89× |
| 2 | Kentucky | $68,020 | 90.2 | 230 | 2.68× |
| 3 | Utah | $55,490 | 98.9 | — | — |
| 4 | Wyoming | $55,240 | 92.7 | 110 | 8.99× |
| 5 | New York | $54,910 | 107.9 | 210 | 0.51× |
| 6 | New Mexico | $54,840 | 92.2 | 130 | 3.54× |
| 7 | New Hampshire | $54,700 | 104.2 | 30 | 1.13× |
| 8 | New Jersey | $53,820 | 108.8 | — | — |
| 9 | California | $51,720 | 110.7 | 1,170 | 1.50× |
| 10 | Maryland | $51,020 | 105.0 | 80 | 0.65× |
| 11 | Virginia | $50,350 | 101.1 | 90 | 0.49× |
| 12 | Indiana | $49,490 | 93.3 | 140 | 1.04× |
| 13 | Arizona | $49,070 | 100.7 | — | — |
| 14 | Alaska | $48,820 | 102.4 | 80 | 5.81× |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $48,290 | 97.6 | 370 | 1.43× |
| 16 | Louisiana | $46,940 | 88.2 | 320 | 3.83× |
| 17 | Montana | $46,720 | 94.6 | 120 | 5.56× |
| 18 | Nevada | $46,610 | 100.0 | 230 | 3.48× |
| 19 | Oregon | $46,270 | 103.4 | 90 | 1.02× |
| 20 | South Dakota | $45,250 | 88.6 | 60 | 3.11× |
| 21 | North Carolina | $42,670 | 94.3 | 150 | 0.68× |
| 22 | Florida | $41,090 | 103.4 | 420 | 0.97× |
| 23 | Texas | $40,650 | 97.1 | 970 | 1.60× |
| 24 | Oklahoma | $38,510 | 87.8 | 140 | 1.92× |
| 25 | Colorado | $37,450 | 103.1 | 190 | 1.51× |
| 26 | Mississippi | $36,160 | 87.0 | — | — |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where helpers--extraction workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for helpers--extraction workers
The 13 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $60,470 | 112.6 | 170 | 0.43× |
| 2 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $51,750 | 106.4 | 190 | 2.59× |
| 3 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $51,060 | 100.9 | 170 | 11.77× |
| 4 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $48,690 | 97.3 | 50 | 0.79× |
| 5 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $47,730 | 102.6 | 100 | 0.78× |
| 6 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $46,890 | 114.2 | 90 | 0.72× |
| 7 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $44,300 | 94.7 | 60 | 1.14× |
| 8 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $43,940 | 103.1 | 110 | 0.61× |
| 9 | Midland, TX | $42,810 | 95.8 | 150 | 28.69× |
| 10 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $40,170 | 100.9 | 60 | 0.98× |
| 11 | Odessa, TX | $39,480 | 93.9 | 70 | 21.03× |
| 12 | Longview, TX | $37,290 | 89.5 | 40 | 7.18× |
| 13 | Laredo, TX | $36,580 | 87.0 | 30 | 6.64× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where helpers--extraction workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Roustabouts, Oil and Gas$46,960
- Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas$58,160
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$57,430
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas$60,190
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators$61,810
- Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas$67,890
- Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas$58,620
- Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining$74,500