Construction and Extraction Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 47-5032

Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

The published band from $40,480 to $99,360 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers ($110K) , Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters ($64K) , Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators ($70K) , Roof Bolters, Mining ($79K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 47-5032 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed
  2. 2. Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions
  3. 3. Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear b…
  4. 4. Place explosive charges in holes or other spots
  5. 5. Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes
  6. 6. Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions
  7. 7. Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws
  8. 8. Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures
  9. 9. Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material
  10. 10. Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns
  11. 11. Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with e…
  12. 12. Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts

Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 47-5032 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Public Safety and Security. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Monitoring 3.8
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.6
  4. 4. Judgment and Decision Making 3.6
  5. 5. Operations Monitoring 3.5
  6. 6. Operation and Control 3.5
  7. 7. Speaking 3.4
  8. 8. Complex Problem Solving 3.4

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Public Safety and Security 4.1
  2. 2. Law and Government 4.0
  3. 3. Mathematics 3.7
  4. 4. Engineering and Technology 3.3
  5. 5. Administration and Management 3.2
  6. 6. Customer and Personal Service 3.2
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$40,480 to $99,360
median $61,390 · ~2.5× spread
$61K
National median
↓ -1%
Growth 2024-2034
500
Annual openings
5,100
Estimated US jobs
Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers
Highest-pay peer · $110K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

1. Wyoming $85,070
2. New York $96,940
3. Florida $69,780
4. North Carolina $85,630
5. California $80,370
6. Colorado $69,640
7. New Jersey $100,520
8. Tennessee $74,190
9. New Mexico $78,960
10. Pennsylvania $84,400

Other Construction and Extraction Occupations titles

  1. 1. Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters $63,800
  2. 2. Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators $70,070
  3. 3. Roof Bolters, Mining $78,540
  4. 4. Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers $109,910
  5. 5. Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas $67,890
  6. 6. Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining $74,500

The OEWS band for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters runs from $40,480 (10th) to $99,360 (90th), about 2.5× wide, with median $61,390. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect -1% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 500 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Wyoming at $85,070. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers at $109,910. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters pay-rank #19 in Construction and Extraction Occupations

Among 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations with a published OEWS median, Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters is pay-rank #19, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 47-5032 · national median $61,390 · upper third of Construction and Extraction Occupations (#19/60). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 47-5032

Wyoming · top state for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

$85K published median

New York · #2 state pay

$97K · behind Wyoming

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

Highest-pay peer vs Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters · $110K

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

Lower-pay peer beside Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters · $64K

Compare Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Construction and Extraction Occupations titles sit near Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters at the top of the pay table? ▼
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters is pay-rank #19 of 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Sheet Metal Workers ($62K), Continuous Mining Machine Operators ($62K), Brickmasons and Blockmasons ($62K), Carpenters ($61K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters. Leading ones include: Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed; Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions; Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear b…; Place explosive charges in holes or other spots. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters? ▼
For SOC 47-5032, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Monitoring (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.6), Judgment and Decision Making (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Public Safety and Security, Law and Government, Mathematics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $40,480 and the 90th at $99,360 for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters (2.5× spread). The national median is $61,390. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters is -1%. Projected annual openings: about 500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters? ▼
Wyoming ($85,070), New York ($96,940), Florida ($69,780) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 47-5032. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics