Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining in the Wheeling Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining pay in Wheeling, WV-OH at a median of $53,700 per year ($25.82/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $57,430, the metro estimate is 6% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 50 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining are employed across the Wheeling MSA in SOC 47-5022.

The Wheeling pay distribution spans from $47,370 at the 10th percentile to $80,980 at the 90th, a 1.7× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $49,810 and the 75th at $67,520, so half of Wheeling-based excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Wheeling, WV-OH covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide WV estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.